{"id":879478,"date":"2026-05-01T10:06:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T10:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/879478\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T10:06:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T10:06:24","slug":"theres-one-guy-the-vikings-should-sign-and-its-not-complicated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/879478\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s One Guy the Vikings Should Sign, and It\u2019s Not Complicated"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Minnesota Vikings<\/a> traded Jonathan Greenard<\/a> to the Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> on Friday, April 24th, transforming their top roster strength into a spot that needs a little love. And as a straightforward solution, the club should sign free-agent pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney<\/a>, and call it good.<\/p>\n

Minnesota can patch its EDGE3 problem without overthinking the market.<\/p>\n

Free agency is seven weeks old, but Clowney remains there for the taking.<\/p>\n

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A Veteran Pass Rusher Still Makes Sense for Brian Flores<\/p>\n

Do the thing, and secure a veteran EDGE \u2014 is our formal recommendation.<\/p>\n

\"JadeveonJadeveon Clowney watches from the field during second-half action, tracking the flow of play as Dallas<\/a> faced Green Bay, Sep. 28, 2025, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The veteran edge defender remained engaged along the sideline, observing adjustments and situational tendencies in a competitive NFC matchup late in the regular season. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images.<\/p>\n

The OLB Group without Greenard<\/p>\n

Before the draft, Minnesota was all set at outside linebacker. Fans bragged about the room; the depth was sweet. Following Greenard\u2019s exodus, the stakes have changed.<\/p>\n

This is the current OLB corps<\/a> for defensive coordinator Brian Flores:<\/p>\n

OLB1: Andrew Van Ginkel<\/a>
OLB2: Dallas Turner<\/a>
OLB3: Bo Richter<\/a>
OLB4: Tyler Batty<\/a>
OLB5: Chaz Chambliss<\/a>
OLB6: Cam\u2019Ron Stewart
OLB7: Jordan Botelho
OLB8: Arden Walker<\/p>\n

That is certainly enough human bodies for the regular season roster in four months, but after Batty and Chambliss, it is unclear if Stewart, Botelho, or Walker will be a part of the 53-man fun.<\/p>\n

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Interim general manager Rob Brzezinski<\/a> should sign Clowney and plop him at OLB3.<\/p>\n

Clowney\u2019s Career Production and Price Tag<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Clowney\u2019s career resume:<\/p>\n

2025: 8.5 Sacks | 12 TFL | 10 QB Hits
2024: 5.5 Sacks | 9 TFL | 11 QB Hits
2023: 9.5 Sacks | 9 TFL | 19 QB Hits
2022: 2.0 Sacks | 4 TFL | 4 QB Hits
2021: 9.0 Sacks | 11 TFL | 19 QB Hits
2020: 0.0 Sacks | 4 TFL | 6 QB Hits
2019: 3.0 Sacks | 7 TFL | 13 QB Hits
2018: 9.0 Sacks | 16 TFL | 21 QB Hits
2017: 9.5 Sacks | 21 TFL | 21 QB Hits
2016: 6.0 Sacks | 16 TFL | 17 QB Hits
2015: 4.5 Sacks | 8 TFL | 8 QB Hits
2014: 0.0 Sacks | 3 TFL | 0 QB Hits<\/p>\n

For the 2025 Dallas Cowboys<\/a>, Clowney played 373 defensive snaps while still managing to bank 8.5 sacks. A starting outside linebacker, for example, could play double that count, which, in theory, would plop Clowney firmly over 15 sacks.<\/p>\n

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Of course, Minnesota doesn\u2019t need Clowney to start \u2014 it has Turner and Van Ginkel<\/a> for that \u2014 but the OLB3 production has the potential to be stellar. Clowney\u2019s next contract should pay him between $5 millon and $8 million per season. He earned about $5.5 million last year.<\/p>\n

\"JadeveonJadeveon Clowney (90) stands along the sideline during third-quarter play, monitoring defensive adjustments as Cleveland<\/a> battled Carolina, Sep. 11, 2022, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The Browns edge rusher stayed active between series, communicating with teammates and coaches while preparing for the next defensive sequence. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports.<\/p>\n

Zone Coverage\u2018s Trevor Ripley on the Clowney-to-MIN scenario<\/a>: \u201cClowney is a savvy vet. Despite being a one-year import, he offers far more skill and experience than Minnesota has at rotational edge. Behind Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel, the next two men up would likely be Tyler Batty and Bo Richter, who have combined for 24 tackles and 0 sacks in their short careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBatty or Richter could develop into impact players. Still, much like Tai Felton<\/a>\u2019s case, Batty and Richter still have a ways to go before Brian Flores trusts them with meaningful snaps, especially in the event of a serious injury to a starter. Some project that second-round pick Golday could slide down to edge at times. However, for the low, low price of a few million bucks, Clowney still feels more secure.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Playoff-Contending Teams Need OLB Depth<\/p>\n

The Eagles won the Greenard sweepstakes. Why did they want him? The answer is simple: the NFL\u2019s best teams habitually stockpile EDGE rushers to surge toward the playoffs and Super Bowl<\/a>. It\u2019s just the way it goes. In fact, the Vikings\u2019 willingness to trade Greenard<\/a> is a little weird in that regard.<\/p>\n

Still, there\u2019s a world where Minnesota threads the needle, unable to afford Greenard, but managing to land a semi-big fish like Clowney as a consolation. It would ease the pain of losing Greenard, and truth be told, Clowney somehow plays fewer snaps in 2026 but records 5.5 sacks.<\/p>\n

\"Jadeveon<\/p>\n

Jadeveon Clowney (7) moves through pregame warmups, loosening up ahead of kickoff as Carolina prepared to face New York, Aug. 17, 2024, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The linebacker worked through drills and positioning exercises, focusing on readiness before taking the field against the Jets in a preseason matchup. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, Flores would turn to Richter, Batty, or Stewart, hoping for the best from a player who has never shown sustainable production.<\/p>\n

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The Non-Clowney Solutions<\/p>\n

To be clear, Clowney isn\u2019t the only EDGE option on the wire<\/a> right now. He\u2019s probably the best, however. After Clowney, the market looks like this:<\/p>\n

Those players should start to find new homes in May, as teams evaluate their pass-rushing depth after the draft. Many didn\u2019t get all they wanted at the EDGE spot; that happens.<\/p>\n

Clowney turned 33 this offseason and has played for five different teams since the start of 2020. He knows the lay of the land in the NFL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Minnesota Vikings traded Jonathan Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday, April 24th, transforming their top roster…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":879479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[10902,6512,18620,6696,6867,7477,85,229,257,10652,7377,11305,1215,7,1823,4893,5736,8041,192,7862,9737,6017,48654,233,259,2529,6,109,1221,53228,7289,8068,234,7958],"class_list":["post-879478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-minnesota-vikings","tag-a-j-epenesa","tag-andrew-van-ginkel","tag-bo-richter","tag-brian-flores","tag-cameron-jordan","tag-chaz-chambliss","tag-cleveland","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-dallas-turner","tag-dante-fowler","tag-denico-autry","tag-derek-barnett","tag-football","tag-haason-reddick","tag-jadeveon-clowney","tag-joey-bosa","tag-jonathan-greenard","tag-kyle-van-noy","tag-leonard-floyd","tag-mandatory-credit","tag-marcus-davenport","tag-michael-danna","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-minnesotavikings","tag-nfl","tag-philadelphia-eagles","tag-tai-felton","tag-tfl","tag-tyler-batty","tag-van-ginkel","tag-vikings","tag-von-miller"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=879478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/879479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=879478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=879478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=879478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}