INDIANAPOLIS - Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said Thursday that he expects veteran linebacker and Mount Vernon native Chad Greenway to be back for one more season.
"I think he will be back, yeah," Zimmer said, via the Star Tribune. "I think he wants to be back and I think we'd like to have him back. But you never know."
Speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine, Zimmer said whether Greenway will be back "all comes down to money." Greenway, 33, has agreed to pay cuts in each of the last two offseasons to stay with the purple. According to the newspaper, Greenway played about 60 percent of the defensive snaps. He started 12 games and recorded 68 tackles.
"Chad was very valuable for us this year in the fact that he was going to be basically a part-time starter, playing a third of the game," Zimmer said. "Then a couple guys got hurt and he got more snaps. Chad's valuable in a lot of different ways and it's not just on the field. I do think he can still play."
Zimmer didn't divulge whether or not he saw Greenway to be in a starting or a reserve role in 2016.
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"You're always trying to find younger and better," Zimmer said. "But I think Chad is valuable for our football team and whether or not that's as a starter or part-time starter, we'll just have to let that all play out."
Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman has taken a similar stance on Greenway. He said last week he hopes Greenway is back for an 11th season.
