Why losing Jonathan Greenard to the Minnesota Vikings may not be a bad thing

The Houston Texans are saying goodbye to one of their home-grown stars, as the team failed to retain Jonathan Greenard. Greenard will be leaving Houston and heading far north to Minnesota, where he'll join the Minnesota Vikings on a whopping new deal. The defensive end has signed a four-year, $72 million deal, with $42 million of it guaranteed.

When Greenard didn't get a deal done with the Texans, the belief was that he'd sign a three-year deal, around $15 million per year. Clearly, he signed for far more. Considering he came off a season where he had 12.5 sacks, 22 quarterback hits, and 15 tackles for a loss, one would expect him to get a nice payday. So his massive deal isn't too shocking, but it wasn't expected. Not at that price.

Frankly, Greenard is a one-year wonder. Oodles of potential, and a high ceiling where he could possibly repeat and even improve in future seasons, but he's far from a proven commodity and he signed for proven commodity money. It isn't the best idea for the Texans to sink that much money in a guy who only showed out in his final season.

In fact, it may be a great thing, if the Texans can strike. With names like Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, Brian Burns, and others out there who are at the level of Greenard, or surpass him, the Texans have options. Not just to replace Greenard, but to upgrade his position. Someone like Burns or Bosa brings a bigger and stronger play-style, with a far more reliable output coming with them.

Losing out on Greenard could end up being good for the Texans, but only if they're able to strike and get one of these big name pass-rushers for what Greenard signed, or less. If they can do this, then the Greenard departure may not hurt at all.