Chad Greenway and the Minnesota Vikings are keeping the lines of communication open, the team said on Wednesday via their Twitter account.
The Vikings have made several moves this offseason to shore up their linebacker depth, signing free agents Emmanuel Lamur and Travis Lewis and re-signing Audie Cole.
So where does that leave long-time Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway? Apparently, Greenway is still in the Vikings’ plans. The team tweeted on Wednesday that the lines of communication are still open between Greenway and Vikings management.
Communication continues between @chadgreenway52 and the #Vikings regarding a new deal. https://t.co/UZdy0eAdU4
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) March 23, 2016
The 33-year-old Greenway spoke to ESPN’s Ben Goessling and said he would like to return to Minnesota for one more go-around, but said neither he nor the team feel any great urgency about getting a deal hashed out (via ESPN):
"“They’re very busy, and tied up with free agency as well, and now the owners meeting hits,” Greenway said. “I can’t say that we’ve been in a huge hurry on our side, either.”"
GM Rick Spielman spoke to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk about the linebacker situation and indicated that if Greenway does return he will have to compete to win the starting Will linebacker job (via Vikings.com):
"“We signed a couple of linebackers [Lamur and Lewis] to compete on the weakside,” Spielman told Florio. “We’re still in the process of hopefully getting Chad Greenway back, and then we’ll address that potentially in the draft as well.”"
Greenway saw his playing-time decrease in 2015 due to a number of factors and finished the season with a career-low 69 tackles. Greenway did make a few impact plays last year, finishing with 2.5 sacks and one interception, a memorable 91-yard pick-six against the Chargers.
While it’s plain that Minnesota does want Greenway back, it’s also plain they only want him back at the right price and with the understanding that he will not be handed the starting Will backer job just by virtue of being a veteran.
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Mike Zimmer obviously likes Greenway’s leadership, experience and reassuring on-field presence, but Zim also surely realizes that Greenway’s physical tools are greatly diminished and he is very limited in what he can still do between the lines.
The Vikings signed Emmanuel Lamur and Travis Lewis not just because they’re younger and more athletic than Greenway, but because Zimmer sees their potential to fill a specific role in his scheme, a role that Greenway himself is not ideally suited to undertake.