Oct 23, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) ruses the ball against Minnesota Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard (58) during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Banged-up Jonathan Greenard shines a light on his status for Lions game

Originally posted on Minnesota Vikings on SI
By Jonathan Harrison | Last updated Oct 30, 2025 2:04 PM ET

Despite dealing with an injury this week, Jonathan Greenard made it clear Thursday morning that nothing is going to keep him out of Sunday's pivotal NFC North showdown with the Lions.

"Y'all know I'm not missing it. It's Detroit. Come on, I'm not missing that," Greenard said when asked about his ankle in an appearance on KFAN's Power Trip Morning Show.

The star Vikings pass rusher popped up on the team's first injury report of the week with an ankle injury that limited his participation in the team's practice on Wednesday. Greenard was dinged up in team's 37-10 loss to the Chargers last Thursday, only appearing on 67 percent of the Vikings' defensive snaps.

Greenard's box score production has suffered a notable drop this year, with just two sacks in the first seven weeks of the season. By this time last season, he already had five of his 12 total sacks. However, the 28-year-old remains a vital piece of Brian Flores' defense. Greenard leads the Vikings with 30 pressures, per PFF, which is tied with the Rams' Byron Young for sixth-most in the league. Greenard is also a key part of Minnesota's run defense.

If Greenard is able to go, and all indications from him point to that being the case, it could mean Minnesota will have its full pass rushing trio for the first time since the Week 3 win over the Bengals. Andrew Van Ginkel returned to full participation on Wednesday after missing the previous five weeks with a neck injury and has said his goal is to play on Sunday.

"He's a gamer. It adds another dynamic element, having to deal with both of us," Greenard said of Van Ginkel. "Dallas being in there too, so now we get our three-headed monster back."

"We're excited. I'm going to be excited to see (Van Ginkel) back."

Van Ginkel's return could be huge in tipping the scales in a tough matchup for the Vikings. According to PFF, when Lions quarterback Jared Goff has a clean pocket this season, he has an 82.5 passing grade while completing 84.7% of his passes. When pressured, Goff's passing grade and completion percentage drop to 31.3 and 50.8%.

If the Vikings are going to have a chance at pulling off the upset, they'll need to find a way to put pressure on Goff and prevent him from picking their secondary apart.