Jonathan Greenard #58 of the Minnesota Vikings could be a Dallas Cowboys trade target.
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Jonathan Greenard #58 of the Minnesota Vikings could be a Dallas Cowboys trade target.
The dilemma for the Dallas Cowboys coming into the offseason here in the NFL was not so much figuring out where they needed to add help. That was clear: the defense. The entire defense needed help after a brutal 2025 in which the Cowboys ranked as the worst in the NFL. But allocating resources and figuring out how much to put into which areas of the defense has been a bit tougher to navigate.
The Cowboys went hard on the safety position, signing Jalen Thompson and PJ Locke while also keeping Malik Hooker on hand. Their biggest move was for pass rusher Rashan Gary of the Packers, and they added veteran Jonathan Bullard on the edge, too. Despite several attempts to land a big fish at linebacker, they came up short across the board there.
There are still plenty of holes to be filled. Even with Gary, the Cowboys need another edge rusher, and it’s a position they could address in the draft. But a trade might be the better way to go, and a recent mock draft suggests a modest trade could yield Vikings edge Jonathan Greenard with only a modest first-round pick swap.
Cowboys Could Still Seek Jonathan Greenard Trade
In the deal, from the Cowboys Wire USA Today site, the Cowboys would send their No. 12 pick to Minnesota, and drop back to the No. 18 pick in the first round. Additionally, the Cowboys would get Greenard, who turns 29 next month and will be in the third year of a four-year, $76 million contract.
There was talk about the Vikings seeking a trade for Greenard going back to early March, with the Cowboys among the inquiring teams, but nothing materialized there.
From the Cowboys Wire site: “We believe in Donovan Ezeiruaku and like the addition of Rashan Gary (along with James Houston as a top backup), but new DC Christian Parker worked for Vic Fangio and Vance Joseph, two defensive coordinators who like to throw waves of players. So here we’ve added another veteran presence in Jonathan Greenard, a 24-sack-over-two-year guy, plus two rookies with a lot of upside in Harold Perkins and Caden Curry.”
Jonathan Greenard Had Shoulder Surgery
Greenard struggled in 2025 with a shoulder injury and after trying to play through it, he finally had to give in and have surgery after Week 15. He played 12 games last year and finished with 3.0 sacks and 39 tackles, down considerably from his Pro Bowl season in Minnesota, when he recorded 12.0 sacks and 59 tackles, with a career-high 18 tackles for a loss, in 2024. That’s the kind of production the Cowboys could use.
The Vikings have said they’ll welcome Greenard on the roster after having tried to trade him. But they made no adjustment to his contract, which should make him easier to deal, and keep the Cowboys’ hopes for a trade alive.
Cowboys Trade Door Still Cracked Open
Coach Kevin O’Connell addressed Greenard’s status at the owners meetings this week, and the good news for a potential Cowboys deal is that he did not close the door on a trade.
Said O’Connell: “I expect him to be part of our team. I know there’s always conversations. There’s conversations this week. There’s conversations throughout the offseason, and we’ll continue to kind of attack things at the different phases. We’re getting ready to really jump heavily into draft meetings when we get back. But at the same time, we’re always going to try to do what’s best for our team and also what we think is best for each one of our individual players. And that’s an ongoing thing throughout every offseason.”