02-13-2019, 03:13 PM
Everson Griffen is one of the best defensive players in Minnesota Vikings history. His success is one of the great accomplishments of Mike Zimmer’s (and Andre Patterson’s) tenure. He might one day end up in the Vikings’ ring of honor. But decisions in the NFL are never about what you have done in the past. For Griffen, his success between 2014 and 2017 won’t mean as much to the team’s decision as his 2018 production and 2019 cap hit.
That decision is likely to come before March 15, according to the Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling, who wrote that Griffen’s $10.9 base salary for 2019 becomes guaranteed on that date. They can release him before then for $1.2 million in dead cap or re-work his contract.
The March 15 deadline gives the Vikings two full days of free agency before making a final call on their Pro Bowl defensive ends. A free agent pool chock full of impressive pass rushers could influence the Vikings’ thinking on Griffen.
At age 31, he will be coming off a season in which he set his lowest sack total during Zimmer’s time in Minnesota and his lowest pressure total (per Pro Football Focus) since 2011, when he was a rotational rusher.
Considering he missed five games with a mental health issue, it’s difficult to tell whether he would bounce back quickly or if Griffen will ever return to form. Keeping him in the fold could be more risky than using the cap space that would be created (more than $10 million) by cutting him to spend on a free agent edge rusher.
Some of the players on the market are around five years younger and fly in the same air as Griffen as disrupters of opponents’ passing games...
https://www.skornorth.com/vikings-2/2019...n-griffen/
That decision is likely to come before March 15, according to the Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling, who wrote that Griffen’s $10.9 base salary for 2019 becomes guaranteed on that date. They can release him before then for $1.2 million in dead cap or re-work his contract.
The March 15 deadline gives the Vikings two full days of free agency before making a final call on their Pro Bowl defensive ends. A free agent pool chock full of impressive pass rushers could influence the Vikings’ thinking on Griffen.
At age 31, he will be coming off a season in which he set his lowest sack total during Zimmer’s time in Minnesota and his lowest pressure total (per Pro Football Focus) since 2011, when he was a rotational rusher.
Considering he missed five games with a mental health issue, it’s difficult to tell whether he would bounce back quickly or if Griffen will ever return to form. Keeping him in the fold could be more risky than using the cap space that would be created (more than $10 million) by cutting him to spend on a free agent edge rusher.
Some of the players on the market are around five years younger and fly in the same air as Griffen as disrupters of opponents’ passing games...
https://www.skornorth.com/vikings-2/2019...n-griffen/
![[Image: 28132854.jpg]](https://memegenerator.net/img/instances/28132854.jpg)
