Reason number 52, Chad Greemway wears #52...seewhatIdidthere?
Chad Greenway is an important part of the Vikings defense, and you could make a good argument that he's the most underrated player on the team. He's also pretty doggone good, and should have made the Pro Bowl the last year or two, at least in my purple and gold opinion.
He's also one of the few guys I've ever heard of being excited to have the franchise tag placed on him.
"I was excited (to receive the franchise tag), knowing the lockout was coming," Greenway said. "To be a free agent right now wouldn't be a good situation to be in. Being the franchise player makes me know the Vikings want me and they want me to be here. I want to be in Minnesota, so it goes hand-in-hand."
Yeah, I can see that. With the labor uncertainty it's nice to know you've got a lottery ticket waiting to cash when it's all over. Besides, who wouldn't be happy about being a franchise player and living in Minnesota?
What's that, Ray Edwards' mom? Yes ma'am, that was a rhetorical question, at least in Greenway's case. No ma'am, I would not like to fight Ray in a boxing match. Ever.
Greenway is going to get, assuming the franchise tag parameters reamin similar or the same when the new labor deal is done, a raise from $1.8 million to almost $10 million. Minnesota is God's Country, and the Vikings are the greatest football team ever.
Put that in a bowl and mix it, and that's what we call in the business SWEET.
But he makes no bones about wanting to get a long term deal done with the Vikings and playing his entire career here. He's not going to hold out, and when asked about his contract status, said this:
"I love to play the game, and I'm in a good position because they've taken care of me and never lied to me," Greenway said, "so I shouldn't play hardball with them. If someone's been good to me, I should be good to them back."
It's nice to have an owner that takes care of the players (I think Sidney Rice and Ray Edwards are back as well), makes bold trades to make the team better (Jared Allen), and runs a first class organization. Sounds like getting Greenway a long term extension won't be much of a hassle unless Zygi WIlf goes all Red McCombs and does an uber-lowball offer. That's not Wilf's style, so I think this just might be the easiest contract extensions in Vikings history. Once, you know, they actually get back to playing football.
So, how about the Governor and State Legislature gets off their collective dead asses and GET THE ARDEN HILLS STADIUM PASSED, MMMMKAY?