One of the Eagles biggest moves on Day 2 of the draft was finalizing a trade for Jonathan Greenard, bringing the former Vikings edge rusher to Philly and signing him to a new 4-year, $100 million deal. Greenard was already at the facility and spoke to reporters about how the trade went down, how his shoulder is doing, and how he fits into the Eagles defensive unit.
Greenard admitted that it’s been a long ride this offseason to get to this point, and noted that he’s been dealing with rehabbing his shoulder
and his son was born in late-January, too.
“Ultimately, I knew there was going to be an end goal, and I knew we were eventually going to get to the bottom of it. I’m just glad now that we’re at the end of it now, I can just worry about football.
I’m glad to be here. This is one of the best organizations that I can remember since coming up watching football, knowing and understanding the history behind it. And to be a part of an organization like this means a lot to me.“
As for how Greenard’s shoulder is healing, the DE said that he’s still rehabbing but ultimately if he needed to play today he could.
“I feel good. I’m in a good spot. And coming here, with the best trainers as well, and the best docs, I know I’m in good hands.”
The new edge rusher was asked how he feels like he fits in with the interior defenders and other edge guys on the Eagles defense, and Greenard showed that he’s familiar with the group.
“If you look at it, across the board, they got some dogs already. You start interior-wise: [Moro] Ojomo, and obviously JC [Jalen Carter] and JD [Jordan Davis], they gonna do they things. And on the edge, it’s just such a young presence, and guys are just relentless, and I feel like that’s where I can add to just as a vet presence. You got Nolan [Smith] already doing his thing already, and elevating his game to that next point. Jalyx [Hunt] as well. AK [Arnold Ebiketie], I already know about him, trained with him before, and Joe [Tryon-Shoyinka] coming in, as well.
All these guys are just hungry, and I think that adding my expertise and still bringing my relentless energy and my effort to the game, and polishing up my certain techniques, because I’m still learning, too. Just because I’m the vet, I still got a long way to go as far as polishing up my technique. But, just adding to what is already put in place, is something I want to bring to the table.”
He admitted it’s weird to be the veteran in a room, as he’s used to be the young guy following older players around. And while he might only be 28 years old, he’s embracing that role and hopes to affect as many people as he can during his time in the league.
“That’s where I find joy at — whenever we’re on the same page and we’re all trending toward the same goal, that’s when I feel like we’re at our best. So, anyway I can help contribute to that, I’m here.”
Greenard doesn’t know how Vic Fangio is going to draw things up, but he knows that whatever the Eagles DC does will be masterful.
When asked about his dip in production in 2025, the edge rusher explained that there were times when he was going for the ball, or his eyes got too big, but he was still affecting the quarterback even if it didn’t show up on the stat sheet. Greenard explained that it would be a bigger problem if he weren’t getting to the QB, but he still feels comfortable with his moves and ability to rush. Still, he said last season wasn’t up to his standard, and he wants to continue to work on and elevate his technique.
“When you look at guys like BG [Brandon Graham], Chris Long — I say even guys like [former Texans teammate] Derek Barnett, [Josh] Sweat — all these guys that have been here before, you just try to add on to what they’ve already built here. You have so many greats that have played here, done great thing not just on the football field but in the community. [That’s] something that’s up my alley, because i love being part of the community and still love to play football at the same time. I feel like I fit right in with that. I respect the hell out of the guys that have come before me, and all I can do is just carry that light and make sure the things they’ve done in the past don’t go in vain.”
He also talked about how important he takes being a leader in the locker room, saying that he understands that you’re only as strong as your weakest part, which means it’s his responsibility to make sure even the young guys know what’s going on, even if that means changing how to deliver the message. Greenard said that he’s not afraid to ask questions that might embarrass younger players to ask, because the most important thing is that everyone is on the same page.
When asked about his experience at the Sixers playoff game on Friday night, Greenard said that even though the team lost, the environment was incredible — even saying it was better than a recent Hawks game he went to before the trade went down. The edge rusher came to Philly for a preseason game when he was with the Vikings, but never played a regular season in Lincoln Financial Field, so that’s something he’s really looking forward to.
“It’s different up here, and they take pride in it. They take pride in everything they do, and that’s a blue collar city. When you work your tail off, everything’s going to be rewarded back to you. They’re just passionate and I love that […]
I respect the hell out of this city, respect the hell out of this org, and I just definitely understand what putting this jersey on, putting this helmet on actually means to this city, and I’m gonna take pride in that.“
Greenard also talked about new Eagles OL coach Chris Kuper who was with the edge rusher in Minnesota, and he noted that Kuper is a very detailed guy, and specifically noted his attention to detail on opposing pass rushers. Greenard said he was able to go up to him in practice and ask his insight into how they would block certain moves.
