Jonathan Greenard's two-word response answers Vikings fans' biggest question

Week 11 was a tough week for Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, as he missed his first game since joining the team last year, as he has been dealing with a shoulder injury.

Things did not go well for the Vikings without Greenard, as they fell to the Chicago Bears 19-17 despite a strong defensive performance. He spoke with KSTP Vikings reporter Darren Wolfson as Greenard shared the experience of watching the game from the sidelines.

"Yeah, it was tough, definitely love to be out there and try to make plays and obviously help the team win. Do what I can, but at the end of the day, it's next man up. Guys got to keep making plays, and that's literally what we preach around here. Feel like guys did a good job. We can take care of certain things, but as a whole, at least for defense-wise, watching film-wise, it wasn't too much stuff that we were like 'Okay, we got to do this and that.' Just putting out a fire a lot of times."

After praising his teammates, including Dallas Turner, Greenard was asked by Wolfson about his playing status for the Vikings' Week 12 matchup against the Green Bay Packers. Greenard only needed two words to give the response Minnesota fans were hoping to hear.

“Super confident."

Vikings fans will get their wish for Greenard potentially playing

Nothing is concrete after the final Week 12 injury report, though, as the Vikings say that Greenard is questionable for the game. Greenard missed the team's first practice but has been limited since.

This season, Greenard has racked up 31 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, nine quarterback hits, three pass deflections, two sacks, and one forced fumble in nine games. Pro Football Focus has him graded at 70.7, ranking 35th out of 117 edge rushers in the NFL who qualify.

Minnesota could use Greenard off the edge, as they were decent, but not as dominant as they could have been with their top pass rusher in there. The Vikings got five quarterback hits and two sacks on Bears quarterback Caleb Williams in the loss.

Greenard is still looking for his first sack of his career against the Packers. Last year in two showdowns against them, he got four quarterback hits, but no sacks to show for it.

Minnesota needs its 2024 Pro Bowl edge rusher in a big way as the Vikings try to turn the season around with a defining moment in 2025.