Greenway says Vikings future uncertain, but sure he'll play 'somewhere'
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Chad Greenway took what he could carry in his hands, bringing along a helmet adorned with plenty of scrapes and cuts from 93 tackles' worth of collisions. Greenway's stall in the corner of the Minnesota Vikings' locker room was still full of many of his personal belongings as he left Monday morning.
Greenway will take time in cleaning out his locker, bringing nine years of good memories with him. He was in no rush Monday as other players boxed up their items. Greenway is sticking around, for now, as he rehabilitates the knee injury that cut short his season and kept him from leading Minnesota in tackles for a seventh consecutive season.
As Greenway eventually cleared out his personal effects, he was not sure if it was the last time he'd be doing so in the Vikings' locker room.
"You don't know," Greenway said when asked if he thinks about the significance of cleaning out his locker this season. "You don't know the situation, how it's going to happen and what's going to happen. You've got to just take it one day at a time. Obviously I'll be in here rehabbing and trying to get healthy first. So, yeah, it's a little weird I guess. But it's a forever-changing league and business and guys have to roll with it."
Seemingly having prepared himself for whatever approaches, Greenway has a grasp of the reality. He will be 32 years old before next season begins and would count $8.8 million against Minnesota's salary cap if he's on the roster. Those two numbers are particularly prohibitive given the young, cheap focus of the NFL.
But Greenway is hesitant to speak too much about the possibilities. After all, he is still under contract. Greenway's future with the Vikings might be clouded -- if released he would only count $1.7 million in dead money against the salary cap -- but he is certain of one thing.
"I'm playing for sure, somewhere," Greenway said, before joking, "Unless it's the CFL or something. We'll see what happens."
Coach Mike Zimmer said he believes Greenway, who started 12 games this season, could still be a starting linebacker next season.
"I love Chad; Chad's a good guy," Zimmer said. "He's the kind of guy that we like to have. I don't know what's going to happen with him or anybody else. I would be the first one, if it wasn't going to work out or Chad didn't want to be here, I'd expect that him and I would have the first conversation of anyone. I have total amount of respect for him and I will treat him with the same kind of respect."
Greenway wants to be in Minnesota. He restructured his deal last offseason to stay with the Vikings, and perhaps could do so again.
Loyalty is important to Greenway and he wants to show it by returning for what would be his 10th season with Minnesota. A decade in the same uniform is a goal for Greenway, who was a first-round draft pick by the Vikings in 2006.
"Yeah, that would be awesome, Greenway said. "I've accomplished a lot of goals in my life and that's one I have left."
Greenway has also accomplished his goals by mostly staying on the field.
After a knee injury in the preseason kept Greenway, a two-time Pro Bowl player, out the entirety of his rookie season, he didn't miss a game the next seven seasons. His streak of 90 consecutive starts and 115 straight games ended in Week 4 this season, as he missed three games with a broken rib. A knee injury kept him out of Sunday's season finale.
He finished second on the team with 93 tackles, snapping his streak of leading the team in tackles for six straight seasons, and he added one sack and one forced fumble. In team history, Greenway is sixth with 791 solo tackles, according to Vikings statistics. He leads the NFL in tackles since 2007, with 984, according to league stats.
"I don't feel like I have become injury-prone or my age has caught up with me in any way," Greenway said. "I think that can happen to anybody at any point. I feel like I can continue to play, somewhere -- hopefully here."
Greenway's hard-working, humble roots began while growing up on a farm in South Dakota. He played collegiately at Iowa. After nine years in Minnesota, where he's made a home with his family, leaving would be difficult.
"It plays a big role," Greenway said. "My daughters are big-time Vikings fans. It'd be a change if that had to happen. We make every decision based on our family. It won't simply come down to money or business. It'll come down to what's best for the family and stay consistent with those decisions."
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