Griffen Looking for NFL Comeback? NOT NOW!!!
I didn't listen to the entire interview. It's nearly an hour long. He does talk about the arrest that happened last Thursday though.
Everson Griffen Says He’s Looking For An NFL Comeback
With the official start of training camp for the Minnesota Vikings coming this week, we’re sure to hear a lot about guys being in the best shape of their careers, taking it one day at a time, and (insert your favorite offseason cliché right here). However, we may now be hearing it from someone that a lot of us may not have thought about in a while.
In an interview with Josina Anderson, former Vikings pass-rushing star Everson Griffen says that he wants to make a comeback into the National Football League. His interview with Anderson is about an hour long, and you can see the whole thing in this YouTube video.
In the interview, Griffen talks about reaching one year of sobriety (congratulations to him on that mark), as well as his bipolar disorder, among other topics.
His off-field issues aside, the deck would appear to be stacked against Griffen making a comeback in the NFL for a couple of significant reasons.
The first reason is that he’s 39 years old. Not to say that players can’t be productive in the NFL when they reach their late 30s or anything like that. After all, Chris Doleman came back to the Vikings for one last season when he was 38 years old and put up eight sacks before announcing his retirement.
The much bigger issue is the fact that Griffen hasn’t set foot on an NFL field since Week 11 of the 2021 season, nearly five full years ago. That was in his second tour of duty with the Vikings and, if you’ll recall, it was after that game that the Vikings placed him on the Non-Football Illness list following a mental health incident at his home. That ended his 2021 season and, though we didn’t know it at the time, ended that chapter of his NFL career.
Griffen says that he can be ready in three months. The start of the NFL regular season is about seven weeks or so away, so if he truly is in a position to make a comeback, it won’t be until late September/early October at the earliest.
Don’t get me wrong, I want to wish Everson Griffen the best of luck if he has all of his personal issues sorted out and wants to try to get back onto the gridiron again. I’m just not totally sure how much we should make of it or expect from it, honestly.
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Can MMA or boxing be far behind?
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here”
Shakespeare
Man needs his dosages adjusted. The proof being that the writer had to use Chris Doleman for an example of a possible comeback. Everson was very good, but at no point in his career was he a Doleman.
JustInTime wrote:
Can MMA or boxing be far behind?
Celebrity boxing match like Adrian Peterson.
Everson was one of my favorite players growing up. Was lucky enough to meet him a couple weeks ago at night practice. I truly hope he gets the help he needs. Mental health matters. https://t.co/nmWcEogSud
— Jason Harmon (@JasonHarmonNFL) August 26, 2026
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Former Vikings Star Arrested Again on Wednesday Morning
Earlier this offseason, former Minnesota Vikings star defender Everson Griffen had another run-in with the law.
He was arrested in Winona County last month after being clocked going 62mph in a 40mph zone. The traffic stop led to Griffen being charged with an ignition interlock violation and booked into jail. He was released quickly.
On Wednesday morning, August 26th, the former Vikings star was taken into custody yet again.
Per Hennepin County’s Jail Roster, Everson Griffen was booked into Hennepin County Jail on August 26th at 5:38 AM. The charge reads as a misdemeanor “penalty for not complying with a police officer.”
“Former MN Viking Everson Griffen is behind bars after a State Trooper deployed their taser on him during an encounter w/ the former defensive end. He was walking on I-394 near downtown Minneapolis just before 3 am this morning and refused to comply with commands to leave the road.”
Griffen had a court appearance at 1:30 pm per the records website. It’s a sad development for the former Vikings star, who has had multiple run-ins with the law over the years.
In a lengthy post last month on his personal Instagram account, Griffen shared that he is at almost one year of sobriety:
Life has given me every chance imaginable to keep my friends, protect my name, build a legacy my family could be proud of, and live an outstanding life, but l’ve been distant because I’ve been deep in the lonely work of owning that it’s all been my fault, the repeated mistakes, the burnt bridges, the pain I caused myself and others, the guilt and shame, and the hidden hurt I carried from childhood that showed up as a cry for help nobody fully saw.
I was blessed with success and opportunities most only dream of, survived amounts of drugs and partying that should have taken me out many times over, and I’m approaching a year of sobriety that is still brutally hard every single day, yet God’s favor kept me here when I didn’t deserve it.
I’m grateful, I’m humbled, I’m staying 100% real with Him and myself, and I’m finally ready to go deep into my full authentic story from the beginning the truth, the fear, the resilience, the grit, the new look at life, and the chances I still have ,so I can grow every day and share the no-sugarcoating wisdom that might help somebody else understand their own pain and find strength to keep going.
I had CHANCES. I’m scared but there is never a right time. The time is now.
As we said last time, we hope this isn’t a major thing going forward for Everson in his recovery. We wish him all the best of luck moving forward.
LIVE WELL ~ LOVE MUCH ~ LAUGH OFTEN
RS_Express wrote:
Man needs his dosages adjusted. The proof being that the writer had to use Chris Doleman for an example of a possible comeback. Everson was very good, but at no point in his career was he a Doleman.
He was much different than Doleman. He wasn't near the DE that Doleman was, but was a physical freak in his own way. I remember him being gunner on the punt team. Was so fast and athletic for a guy his size.
That said, I wish him nothing but the best. It is sad to see someone struggle with mental health, addiction and all that. This isn't like an Adrian Peterson story, this is a man truly struggling with mental health.
this feels like its been going on for decades now...
Agree Greed, continuing to send best wishes to him and his family.
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
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