Everson Griffen On Possibly Returning To Vikings: “Never Say Never”

A few weeks ago, free agent DE Everson Griffen announced on Instagram that he won’t be returning to the Vikings for the 2020 season.

“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,” Griffen’s agent Brian Murphy said.

However, Griffen told Tom Pelisseo of NFL Media on Friday “never say never” on a return to Minnesota. 

Griffen is one of the best available players at this point in free agency, but his market has been slow to develop. 

“This process, for me, has taken a lot of patience, a lot of self-reflection, too … It’s like, why haven’t (more) teams been interested? And the reason why is because they don’t know Everson,” Griffen said. 

Chris Tomasson reported a few weeks ago that Griffen is “definitely has interest” in signing with the Seahawks. However, Seattle has since signed a pair of veteran defensive ends and Jadeveon Clowney is still available, so it remains to be seen whether they’re a serious option for Griffen. 

Griffen hit two triggers to be able to void his deal last year by recording more than six sacks and playing more than 57 percent of the snaps. The move cleared $13 million in cap space for the Vikings. 

Griffen, 32, is a former fourth-round pick of the Vikings back in 2010. He signed a six-year, $75 million contract that includes $34 million guaranteed in 2017 and was set to make base salaries of $12.9 million and $13.4 million the next two seasons.

In 2019, Griffen appeared in 15 games for the Vikings and recorded 41 tackles, eight sacks, one interception and two pass defenses.

We have him included in our Top 100 Available 2020 Free Agents list.