After this release this offseason, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave didn’t exactly have great things to say about Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and his system. As it turns out, Hargrave will see Flores and the Vikings twice next season.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Wednesday the Green Bay Packers signed Hargrave to a 2-year, $23 million contract. The deal will include $13 million guaranteed.
Hargrave will be staying in the NFC North after one season with the Vikings.
The veteran defensive tackle was supposed to be in Minnesota a little longer. The Vikings signed Hargrave to a 2-year, $30 million contract last offseason.
But ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on March 1 the Vikings planned to release Hargrave. The move saved the team $10.9 million in cap space.
During 2025, Hargrave posted 52 combined tackles, including four tackles for loss. He also had 3.5 sacks, six quarterback hits and one forced fumble in 16 games.
In 146 NFL games with the Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, Hargrave has registered 49 sacks, 59 tackles for loss and 85 quarterback hits.
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Green Bay doesn’t typically target defensive linemen older than 30. But SI on Packers’ Bill Huber argued the Packers should strongly consider making an exception with Hargrave this offseason.
Ultimately, that’s what they elected to do. In the process, the Packers are reuniting Hargrave with Jonathan Gannon, his defensive coordinator from his Philadelphia tenure.
With the Eagles, Hargrave emerged as a top interior defensive line edge rusher. In 2021, he set a new career high in sacks and made his first Pro Bowl. Then during 2022, Hargrave had 11 sacks with 10 tackles for loss and 16 quarterback hits.
That type of impact is what the Vikings wanted and expected from Hargrave when they signed him to a contract last offseason. But that didn’t materialize in Minnesota.
According to the Pro Football Focus player grades, Hargrave was a good performer overall in 2025. He had 31 total pressures, 24 of which were hurries.
But Hargrave struggled in run defense, posting a 57.3 grade (out of 100) in that category.
Granted, Hargrave didn’t arrive in Minnesota with a strong reputation as a run defender. He defended the run well early in his career with the Steelers, but since joining the Eagles, Hargrave has posted poor run defense grades at PFF every year.
Hargrave Took Shot at Brian Flores, Vikings Defense
The defensive tackle didn’t leave Minnesota this month without first stirring the pot a little bit.
In a quote tweet to an update about his release from ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, Hargrave took a dig at Flores.
“If you’re DL and wanna get to the QB, Brian Flores’ system is not for you,” wrote Hargrave on X.
Hargrave had one sack in his final season with the 49ers during 2024. But he played just three contests during that campaign.
The last time Hargrave had fewer than four sacks in a full season was 2017 with the Steelers.
The defensive tackle, though, made it pretty clear on X — Flores was to blame for his poor 2025 pass-rushing figures.
This would be a mere footnote in Minnesota’s offseason had Hargrave landed with a team not on the Vikings 2026 schedule. But the team will see the veteran defensive tackle not once, but twice next season.
It will be interesting to see if there are any remaining bad feelings inside the already intense Vikings-Packers rivalry.
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