Vikings Rumors Intensify around on a Jonathan Greenard Trade, L’Jarius Sneed, McCarthy’s Future

The 2026 NFL Draft is now less than five weeks away, and the Minnesota Vikings are transitioning the remnants of free agency. The club has added a few new players and will onboard about 30 rookies via the draft and undrafted free agency next month. In the meantime, here’s a look at the rumor mill.

Minnesota has three talking points worth sorting before draft season fully takes over.

Minnesota has a momentous year afoot, probably needing to win a playoff game to secure the head coach’s long-term job security.

Inside the Latest Purple Rumor Mill for Minnesota

It’s the Purple Rumor Mill for March 21st, 2026.

Rumor: The Jonathan Greenard trade sweepstakes may be down to the Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts.

The Greenard trade fodder has circulated for a few weeks now. The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis opined on the rumors this week, claiming on his podcast, “I think over the course of the last week or last two weeks, it probably seemed more imminent than it was. I would say that the Minnesota Vikings have been very clear from the outset that they are doing this on their terms. So they are not going to trade a talented player that they’ve really liked having, Jonathan Greenard, unless it makes a lot of sense for them to do that.”

“I would say the Philadelphia Eagles definitely still need edge rusher talent. I mean, they have Jalyx Hunt, they signed Arnold Ebiketie, they have Nolan Smith Jr., but to have another elite edge rusher, it’s part of the reason they were in on Jaelan Phillips. And then I think the Indianapolis Colts are kind of in a similar vein.”

The Eagles need EDGE help more than the Colts, so Philadelphia may be the frontrunner if a Greenard trade happens at all.

With the draft only five weeks away, what to do with Greenard is still a big question for Minnesota. It would make sense to trade him during the draft weekend. That way, general managers could quickly weigh their draft picks against the chance to snag Greenard, who’s already proven he can rush the passer and has six years in the NFL under his belt.

Money-wise, waiting until after June 1 to trade him would give Minnesota an extra $6 million in cap space, which would be helpful going into the summer. Even though many teams will probably have found their EDGE rushers by then, the extra cap room still makes a trade look enticing for Minnesota.

There’s also always the easy choice: just keep Greenard. Teams don’t find productive defenders every day, and Minnesota’s already got one locked down.

The sticking point is evidently Greenard’s contract. He’s due for a raise at $19 million per year, and his counterpart, Micah Parsons, earns $47 million out in Green Bay.

Rumor: L’Jarius Sneed is a free agent, and Minnesota should sign him to a prove-it contract.

Sneed is done in Tennessee.

ESPN’s Turron Davenport wrote Friday, “The Tennessee Titans released cornerback L’Jarius Sneed on Friday, a move that saves $11.4 million in cap space. Sneed struggled to stay on the field for Tennessee, appearing in 12 games over two seasons.”

“He had signed a four-year, $76 million contract after the Titans acquired him in a 2024 trade with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Titans signed defensive backs Alontae Taylor, Cor’Dale Flott and Josh Williams earlier this week to restock their cornerbacks room.”

In 2025, the Vikings went into the season thin at cornerback, counting on Byron Murphy Jr., Isaiah Rodgers, and Jeff Okudah as their main assets. Murphy Jr. and Rodgers held up, playing in 34 games combined, but Okudah had a rough go of it with two concussions, and his performance waned overall.

To make up for it, Minnesota brought up Fabian Moreau from the practice squad, and he cooked compared to Okudah.

Projecting 2026, it’s probably too optimistic to expect the same kind of health at the cornerback position. The spot usually needs more depth, so adding a veteran like Sneed or using a draft pick in April would make a lot of sense.

Sneed is affordable and looking to re-prove that he belongs in the NFL as a starter.

Rumor: Despite theories suggesting otherwise, the Vikings won’t give up on J.J. McCarthy.

Every so often, ESPN authors an article about “overreactions” around the NFL, and recently, ESPN’s Dan Graziano examined the topic from a post-free-agency angle.

On McCarthy, Graziano wrote, “J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr. are both done as starting QBs. Verdict: OVERREACTION. The Vikings signed Kyler Murray, and the Falcons signed Tua Tagovailoa, thrusting those veterans into ostensible competitions with the 10th and eighth overall picks from the 2024 draft, respectively.”

“McCarthy is coming off a terrible and injury-plagued first NFL season after missing his entire rookie season due to a knee injury. He entered the offseason healthy, but after throwing 12 interceptions and taking 27 sacks in his 10 starts last season, he has given the Vikings reason to doubt whether he’ll turn out to be the quarterback they thought he was when they moved up a spot to draft him.”

McCarthy has missed 70% of all football games since the Vikings drafted him in 2024.

Graziano continued, “Murray is very likely to end up starting ahead of McCarthy, unless a light comes on this offseason and McCarthy performs well enough in the summer to beat him out. But the Vikings aren’t ready to give up on McCarthy just yet, and they’re hoping Murray’s arrival has a positive impact on him.”

“The Atlanta story is different; my sense is the Falcons view Penix as the starter once he’s healthy and Tagovailoa is just there for coverage in case he isn’t ready.”

While McCarthy probably won’t start in September, the Vikings are in no rush to get rid of him, says Graziano.