Souhan: Vikings' Greenway isn't asking for much

Chad Greenway wants one more season in purple.

The way he's playing, the feeling might become mutual.

Nine seasons after he entered the NFL as a first-round draft choice, the Vikings linebacker has confronted a pay cut, a rib injury, the demands of a new defensive scheme, the standards of a new taskmaster coach, and found his goals unchanged.

"I don't want to play forever," he said this week, sitting in the team's equipment room. "I would like to be able to play 10 years and ride off as a Viking. You see so many guys who have stayed tied to this organization, and that's something I'd like to be a part of."

Greenway's role model is not one of the Vikings' Hall of Famers. It is former tight end and special teams ace Jimmy Kleinsasser, like Greenway a native of the Dakotas who arrived in Minnesota as a high draft choice and chose to raise his family in the western suburbs.

By playing his role well and without complaint from 1999 to 2011, Kleinsasser became one of the most popular Vikings ever among teammates and within the organization.

"He's this legendary figure," Greenway said.

Greenway has evolved similarly. He accepted a $1 million pay cut this offseason when offered a take-it-or-leave-town offer. Logic and priorities dictated swallowing his pride.

"Financially, we're secure," he said. "We've been smart with our money. The nice thing is we're making a decision not based on money but on health and what's best for the family. And I know my daughters would kill me if I decided to hang it up this year and be done."

He might have to take another pay cut to fulfill that goal. He's scheduled to make a base salary of $7 million next season, with a salary cap hit of $8.8 million.

At least his play this season is giving him a selling point. Despite missing three games because of a rib injury, Greenway has climbed to second on the team with 75 tackles.

Asked to grade his own performance, Greenway said: "B. B-plus. I've done a lot of good things. I've been asked to change roles and change positions. The injury really slowed me down. The ribs were really hard to deal with and play with. I had a great training camp, my body was feeling good. I felt like I was ready and primed to have one of my best years, but the game is the game, you get hurt and you can't do anything about it."

"It's a process of putting your ego aside and knowing you're going to pass the torch to someone eventually," he said. "You don't know if they're going to slice you, or cut you, or whether you will be able to hang around and continue to play here if you play at a high level. It's important to the guys around you and behind you that you give them the same benefits that you received. E.J. Henderson and Ben Leber were guys I played with, and I moved in and started taking their snaps, and to see the way they handled it taught me how to handle it when it was my turn."

Even after taking a pay cut, Greenway displays no regrets. He praised owner Zygi Wilf and General Manager Rick Spielman, saying, "My experiences here have been exceptional."

Greenway promises not to hang on too long. His left knee "is bone on bone, and we all know what that means — we're heading to replacement surgery."

"You don't want to let the game take too much from you," he said. "You have to quit at the right time because you want to be whole."

He lives in Wayzata with his wife and three children. He attends neighborhood holiday parties and does yardwork. He wants to retire as a Viking and finish raising his family in Minnesota.