Minnesota Vikings Position Battle: Outside Linebacker

The Minnesota Vikings are a young team. They have moved on from many of their veteran players and instead opted to go with younger, more athletic individuals. That has been a trend since Rick Spielman was promoted to the team’s General Manager back in 2012.

Dec 7, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Jets tight end Jeff Cumberland (85) watches as Minnesota Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway (52) and linebacker Gerald Hodges (50) break up a pass attempt in the second quarter at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings win 30-24. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

However, there are some veterans that the team has decided to hold on to and others they have courted in free agency. Holdovers like longsnapper Cullen Loeffler and Joe Berger join new veterans on the team Terence Newman and Shaun Hill all have more than 10 seasons of experience in the NFL. And next in line is linebacker Chad Greenway.

There was some debate among fans as to whether or not the Minnesota Vikings would bring Greenway back this year. After seeing some promising things from guys like Gerald Hodges and Audie Cole over the past couple years, it was assumed that youth would eventually win out as it has in the past with the squad. But Greenway came back for his 10th year with the Vikings this year and has seemingly be penciled in as the starter for the 2015 season.

In a recent mailbag question on ESPN’s website, Ben Goessling addressed the competition between veteran Chad Greenway and former 2013 4th round draft pick Gerald Hodges. Here is what he said:

"“I thought it was interesting that Mike Zimmer called Chad Greenway the best weakside linebacker the Vikings have earlier this offseason, and that Greenway got all of the work with the Vikings’ first-team defense in OTAs and minicamp. They’re still planning for him to start, which suggests there are still questions for Hodges to answer.”"

Personally, I think starting Greenway is the right move. Having him alongside Barr and potentially Kendricks will be a good balance on the defense. Plus, getting one more season of veteran experience to help a young linebacking group could be essential in the team’s development. It gives Hodges more time to prepare for, what I feel, will be his eventual starting position for 2016. Cole can continue to be used as a backup and solid special teams player as he keeps growing as well.

We’ll know more about this linebacker position as training camp and the preseason happen. But it will still be interesting to see if Chad Greenway can hold on to that starting position with younger, more athletic players breathing down his neck.

Next: Minnesota Vikings 2015 Game By Game Previews

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