After spending a decade as a member of the purple and gold, he can say he was able to walk away on his own terms, and retire a Viking.

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Back in 2006, the Vikings selected 6'2" linebacker Chad Greenway out of the University of Iowa with their 17th overall selection in the first round. However, Greenway never got to enjoy his rookie season as he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason and had to delay his NFL debut another year.

But ever since he returned to the field, he has been a fixture on defense, while also being a team leader in the locker room.

Greenway, a native of South Dakota, was a two-time Pro Bowler and played 156 games during his career. He was voted the Vikings most valuable defensive player three times while racking up 1,334 tackles, 18 sacks and 11 interceptions. He was always a fan favorite for his body of work both on and off the field.

In fact, he's been named Vikings Man of the Year four separate times, and in 2015 Greenway was named the the Byron “Whizzer” White Award winner, an honor bestowed by the NFL Players Association to the player who goes above and beyond to perform community service in their team city and hometown.

In my opinion, Greenway was a great player, and an even greater role model in his Vikings community here in Minnesota.

The official announcement of Chad Greenway's retirement will be made at an official press conference on Tuesday morning at 11:00 am.

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