Everson Griffen is leaving the #Vikings.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 20, 2020
Statement from Griffen's agent, Brian Murphy: "We have broken off talks with Minnesota because they have to spend their money elsewhere and we decided to now focus our attention on free agency."
Just called Everson Griffen on his cell phone. He hung up on me. I don't know where he's going but his agent has announced he's not returning to the #Vikings.
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) March 20, 2020
Everson Griffen, who is a free agent, posted this message to his Instagram account saying goodbye to Minnesota after 10 seasons. Another key member of the Vikings defensive line is leaving. pic.twitter.com/QvgydLjzdk
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) March 20, 2020
It looks like the Vikings can’t afford to keep Everson Griffen. As much as they wanted to bring him back, it just wasn’t in the cards… or the budget. We will see everyone jump down the throat of Spielman and the Vikings front office for this… but they shouldn’t.
I saw this coming two years ago and our cap strain became inevitable, when Barr broke his agreement with the Jets last offseason, to come back to Minnesota… and nobody was complaining then. When you draft good players and raise them properly, you just aren’t going to keep everyone around in a salary cap pro sport.
Now, we will get a chance to see what Ifeadi Odenigbo can do. All of the amateur scouts on the internet love him. We’ll see if it’s valid. There are holes up and down this defense now, with all 3 starting DB’s and half of the defensive line gone.
Oh… and the Vikings are broke. The draft is becoming more and more important to filling holes that will be prevalent in 2020. That’s a dangerous proposition for a team that wants to make the playoffs again.
Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan