In 2024 free agency, as they stepped off the contract carousel with quarterback Kirk Cousins, the Minnesota Vikings were able to invest more money in the defensive side of the ball. They doubled up at the edge rusher spot, signing Jonathan Greenard to a four-year, $76 million deal and adding Andrew Van Ginkel to a two-year, $20 million deal.
Van Ginkel reunited with Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who had been his head coach with the Miami Dolphins for the first three years of his career. He went on to have the best season of his career (11.5 sacks, 18 tackles for loss, two interceptions, six pass breakups), earning the first Pro Bowl nod of his career as he unsurprisingly proved to be an ideal fit for Flores' defensive scheme.
Any idea Greenard had a contract year spike with the Houston Texans in 2023 (a career-high 12.5 sacks) was put to rest by his tallying 12 sacks in his first year as a Viking. He also earned the first Pro Bowl selection of his career last year.
Van Ginkel was rewarded for his breakout performance with a one-year, $23 million contract extension this offseason. Even still, the combined cap hit for him and Greenard this year ($33.7 million) is nearly the highest cap hit for an individual edge rusher (Maxx Crosby-$38.15 million).
Minnesota Vikings' shrewd edge rusher investments have paid off nicely
Matt Holder of Bleacher Report has ranked the top-five pass-rush duos in the league heading into the 2025 season. Greenard and Van Ginkel landed at No. 4.
"While Greenard had success with the Houston Texans, they had no problem letting him leave in free agency during the 2024 offseason. Meanwhile, Van Ginkel was cast away by the Miami Dolphins and had never been named to a Pro Bowl nor earned an All-Pro bid before last season."
"However, Minnesota took a chance on both players during free agency and became the only team to have two players finish in the top eight for sacks."
"Greenard was half a sack short of tying a career high, getting to the quarterback 12 times, while Van Ginkel recorded his first double-digit sack campaign and nearly doubled his previous personal best (six) with 11.5."
"Part of what makes the free-agent signings' contributions so impressive is that the Vikings don't have a plethora of other quality pass-rushers on the roster."
"While Patrick Jones II—now with the Carolina Panthers—had seven sacks last year, he wasn't a consistent winner with just 24 pressures, per PFF. And the next two sack leaders were off-ball linebackers Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace, as Minnesota's defense is reliant on Greenard and Van Ginkel to get pressure."
According to Pro Football Focus, Greenard was second among edge rushers with 80 quarterback pressures last year during the regular season. Van Ginkel was in the top 30 with 49 pressures.
As Holder noted, Greenard and Van Ginkel accounted for 23.5 of the Vikings' 48 sacks last season, and their third-leading sacker (Patrick Jones, with seven) left in free agency. But second-year man Dallas Turner is in line for a bigger role this season. He's set to fill the void left by Jones, while also allowing Van Ginkel and Greenard to be even more effective with a little more rest than they had last year.