Minnesota Vikings 2006 The
Minnesota Vikings selected Greenway in the first round (17th overall) of the
2006 NFL draft. Greenway was the third linebacker drafted in 2006, behind
Ohio State's A. J. Hawk (fifth overall) and
Florida State's Ernie Sims (ninth overall). On July 23, 2006, the Vikings signed Greenway to a five-year,
$10.75 million contract that includes $6.14 million guaranteed. Throughout training camp, Greenway competed to be a starting outside linebacker against
E. J. Henderson and
Ben Leber. On August 14, 2006, Greenway tore his
ACL in his left leg while covering a kickoff in the first quarter of the Vikings' 16–13 loss to the
Oakland Raiders in their first preseason game. He missed his entire rookie season in
2006.
2007 The Minnesota Vikings hired
Leslie Frazier as their new defensive coordinator after
Mike Tomlin accepted the head coaching position with the
Pittsburgh Steelers. Greenway entered training camp slated as a starting outside linebacker. Head coach
Brad Childress named Greenway the starting weakside linebacker to begin the regular season, alongside Ben Leber and middle linebacker E. J. Henderson. He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the
Minnesota Vikings' season-opener against the
Atlanta Falcons and recorded ten combined tackles (four solo) in their 24–3 victory. On November 18, 2007, he recorded seven combined tackles, a season-high two pass deflections, and made his first career interception off a pass by quarterback
Daunte Culpepper during a 29–22 victory against the
Oakland Raiders in Week 11. In Week 12, Greenway made three solo tackles, a pass deflection, and returned an interception for his first career touchdown in the Vikings' 41–17 win at the
New York Giants. Greenway intercepted a pass by Giants' quarterback
Eli Manning and returned it for a 37-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. On December 9, 2007, he collected a season-high 13 combined tackles (eight solo) during a 27–7 victory at the
San Francisco 49ers in Week 14. Greenway started all 16 games in
2007 and recorded 105 combined tackles (78 solo), four pass deflections, two forced fumbles, two interceptions, and one touchdown.
2008 Head coach Brad Childress retained Greenway and Ben Leber as the starting outside linebackers in 2008, along with middle linebacker E. J. Henderson. On September 21, 2008, Greenway recorded nine combined tackles and made his first career sack on quarterback
Jake Delhomme during a 20–10 win against the
Carolina Panthers in Week 3. In Week 11, he collected a season-high 16 solo tackles, made a pass deflection, and a sack in the Vikings' 13–10 loss at the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In Week 15, Greenway recorded seven combined tackles, a season-high three pass deflections, and a sack in a 35–14 win at the
Arizona Cardinals. Greenway finished the
2008 season with 115 combined tackles (78 solo), a career-high 5.5 sacks, and five pass deflections in 16 games and 15 starts. The
Minnesota Vikings finished first in the
NFC North with a 10–6 record. On January 4, 2009, Greenway recorded ten combined tackles (nine solo) during the Vikings' 26–14 loss against the
Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wildcard Game. In Week 8, he collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (ten solo) and broke up one pass in the Vikings' 38–26 win at the
Green Bay Packers. He started all 16 games in
2009 and recorded 99 combined tackles (80 solo), a career-high six pass deflections, and three interceptions. The
Minnesota Vikings finished first in the NFC North with a 12–4 record and earned a first round bye. On January 17, 2010, he recorded six combined tackles, a pass deflection, and a sack in a 34–3 win against the
Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Round. On January 24, 2010, Greenway made eight combined tackles during a 31–28 loss at the
New Orleans Saints in the
NFC Championship Game. He started in the
Minnesota Vikings' season-opener at the
New Orleans Saints and collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (nine solo) in their 14–9 loss. On November 22, 2010, the Minnesota Vikings fired head coach Brad Childress after they lost 31–3 to the Green Bay Packers and fell to a 3–7 record. Defensive coordinator
Leslie Frazier was promoted to interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Greenway started in all 16 games in
2010 and recorded 144 combined tackles (109 solo), three interceptions, one pass deflection, a forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
2011 On February 21, 2011, the Minnesota Vikings exercised their
franchise player on Greenway. On March 1, 2011, Greenway signed his one-year, $10.09 million franchise tag. Linebackers coach
Fred Pagac was promoted to defensive coordinator and retained Greenway as the starting weakside linebacker. Head coach Leslie Frazier named Greenway and
Erin Henderson the starting outside linebackers to begin the regular season in 2011, along with middle linebacker
E. J. Henderson. On September 5, 2011, the Minnesota Vikings signed Greenway to a five-year, $41 million
contract that includes $20 million guaranteed. He started all 16 games in
2011 and recorded a career-high 154 combined tackles (89 solo), two pass deflections, and two sacks. On January 9, 2012, it was announced that Greenway would play in the
2012 Pro Bowl as a replacement for
Lance Briggs who was unable to participate due to an injury. This became Greenway's first
Pro Bowl selection.
2012 On January 14, 2012, the Minnesota Vikings announced the decision to relieve Fred Pagac of his duties as defensive coordinator and demote him to linebackers coach after the defense was ranked 21st in 2011. They also ranked 26th in pass defense and 11th in run defense in 2011. Head coach Leslie Frazier named Greenway the starting weakside linebacker to start the regular season, along with Erin Henderson and middle linebacker
Jasper Brinkley. He started in the
Minnesota Vikings' season-opener against the
Jacksonville Jaguars and recorded 13 combined tackles (nine solo) and a season-high two pass deflections in their 26–23 victory. On October 5, 2012, Greenway was fined $21,000 for unnecessary roughness after he struck wide receiver
Calvin Johnson in the head and neck area. On November 11, 2012, he recorded five combined tackles, deflected a pass, and made an interception during a 34–24 win against the
Detroit Lions in Week 10. In Week 13, Greenway collected a season-high 16 combined tackles (13 solo) during the Vikings' 23–14 loss at the
Green Bay Packers. Greenway started in all 16 games in
2012 and recorded 148 combined tackles (98 solo), four pass deflections, three sacks, and an interception. The Minnesota Vikings finished second in the NFC North with a 10–6 record and earned a Wild Card berth. On January 5, 2013, Greenway recorded 11 combined tackles (ten solo) as the Vikings lost 24–10 at the
Green Bay Packers in the NFC
Wild Card Round. On January 10, 2013, it was announced that Greenway was selected to play in the
2013 Pro Bowl as a replacement for
DeMarcus Ware who was unable to play due to an injury. He was ranked 70th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2013.
2013 Defensive coordinator
Alan Williams retained Greenway as the starting weakside linebacker, along with
Marvin Mitchell and middle linebacker Erin Henderson. On September 29, 2013, Greenway collected a season-high ten solo tackles, deflected a pass, made a sack, and made an interception during a 34–27 victory against the
Pittsburgh Steelers in their Week 4 game in
London. Greenway intercepted a pass by Steelers' quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger, that was originally intended for wide receiver
Emmanuel Sanders, in the third quarter. In Week 10, he collected a season-high 16 combined tackles (five solo) in the Vikings' 34–27 win against the
Washington Redskins. He started all 16 games and recorded 134 combined tackles (83 solo), four pass deflections, three interceptions, and three sacks. On December 30, 2013, the Minnesota Vikings fired head coach
Leslie Frazier after they finished the season with a 5–10–1 record.
2014 In the 2014 season, Greenway appeared in and started 12 games. He finished with one sack, 93 total tackles, two passes defended, and one forced fumble. He earned the NFLPA Alan Page Community Award for the 2014 season.
2015 In Week 3 of the 2015 season, Greenway recorded a 91-yard interception return for a touchdown in the 31–14 victory over the
San Diego Chargers. In the 2015 season, Greenway had 2.5 sacks, 69 total tackles, one interception, and one pass defensed.
2016 On March 31, 2016, Greenway announced that he was returning for an 11th season with the Vikings and that it would be his last. In the 2016 season, Greenway had 41 total tackles, one interception, and one pass defended in 16 games and nine starts. On March 6, 2017, Greenway officially announced his retirement from the
National Football League.
NFL statistics ==Personal==