With the Minnesota Vikings already eliminated from earning a spot in the 2025 playoffs, there isn't much time left in the regular season for players to prove they deserve more time on the field next year.
Unfortunately, edge rusher Jonathan Greenard won't be among the Vikings participating in the team's final three games this season, as Minnesota revealed on Monday that he will miss the remainder of the 2025 campaign to undergo surgery for an injured shoulder.
With Greenard unavailable, the Vikings will turn to second-year edge rusher Dallas Turner to help pick up the slack. Turner has been ascending this season in Minnesota, and there's good reason to believe his rise will continue in the final three games of the team's 2025 schedule.
Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Dallas Turner has a great opportunity standing right in front of him
Turner has already made plenty of strides in the right direction this season, so the Vikings' final three games are a chance for him to get even more playing time in 2026.
In 14 appearances this year, Minnesota's young edge rusher has accumulated 54 tackles (eight for a loss), 20 pressures, 5.5 sacks, three pass deflections, and two forced fumbles. Mixed in with his 14 games this season, Turner has also started eight contests for the Vikings, as he's had to fill in for Greenard and fellow edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel.
When filling in for Greenard this year, Turner performed much better than he did when he started in place of Van Ginkel, since it allowed him to utilize his pass-rushing skills more often.
So, with Greenard being the one Turner will be taking over for during the next three weeks, it's fair to expect more of the same from the second-year edge rusher.
If Turner does well enough, it's possible that it could even result in the Vikings potentially moving on from Greenard in the upcoming offseason.
Minnesota can free up $12.4 million in cap space by releasing Greenard in 2026, and for a team that is currently projected to be more than $35 million over the salary cap to begin the upcoming offseason, a move like this is absolutely possible.