Jonathan Raymond Greenard (born May 25, 1997) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

and the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

Early life

Greenard grew up in

Hiram, Georgia Hiram () is a city in Paulding County, Georgia, Paulding County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is approximately part of Metro Atlanta. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population is 4,929. History The Geo ...

and attended

Hiram High School Hiram High School is a public high school in Hiram, Georgia, United States. History The history of a school in the Hiram area goes back a century and a half. The first Hiram high School opened in 1850 as a one-room school house on Main Street ...

, where he played basketball and football. As a senior, he was named the 5-A regional defensive player of the year. Rated a three-star recruit, Greenard committed to play

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

over Kentucky.

College career

Greenard was a member of the Louisville Cardinals, redshirting his true freshman season. He was a key reserve at

as a redshirt freshman recording 22 tackles (seven for loss) and 2.5 sacks along with two passes broken up and an interception, which he returned 42 yards for a touchdown. He made his first career start in the 2016 Citrus Bowl, making five tackles (1.5 for loss). Greenard became a starter for the Cardinals in his redshirt sophomore season and led the team with 15.5 tackles and tied for the team lead with seven sacks. Greenard dislocated his wrist in the first series of first game of his redshirt junior season against Alabama and was forced to miss the entire season. He announced that he would be transferring to the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

at the end of the season. While injured as a redshirt junior, Greenard took extra courses in order to graduate a semester early and was able to enroll at Florida in January 2019 as a graduate transfer. He was named the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

co-Defensive Lineman of the Week after making six tackles with 1.5 sacks against

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

in his first game as a Gator. Greenard finished the season with 52 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks with three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, four passes defended and an interception.

Professional career

Houston Texans

Greenard was drafted by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

in the third round, 90th overall, of the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

. On May 14, 2020, Greenard signed a four-year contract with the Texans that included a nearly $900,000 signing bonus. Greenard made his NFL debut on October 4, 2020, against the

. In Week 11 against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, Greenard recorded his first career sack on

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He is the NFL le ...

during the 27–20 win. Greenard finished his rookie season with 19 tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack in 13 games played with one start. On October 22, 2022, Greenard was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on December 17.

Minnesota Vikings

On March 13, 2024, Greenard signed a four-year, $76 million contract with the

. In Week 3 of the 2024 season, Greenard recorded three sacks and four tackles in a 34–7 win over the Texans, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Louisville Cardinals bioFlorida Gators bioMinnesota Vikings bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenard, Jonathan 1997 births Living people Players of American football from Paulding County, Georgia American football linebackers Louisville Cardinals football players Florida Gators football players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Minnesota Vikings players National Conference Pro Bowl players