After spending 10 years with Minnesota Vikings, Pro Bowl defensive end Everson Griffen left the franchise in the offseason as a free agent. Still, Griffen could continue playing in NFC North as the 32-year-old considers joining Vikings’ biggest rivals Green Bay Packers.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Griffen narrowed down the list of his preferred teams, and Packers are on it. Reportedly, there is a mutual interest from both sides in making the deal happen.
It isn’t hard to see why Packers would want to have Griffen on their team. He would provide them with badly needed veteran depth on defense, while making their already scary pass rush, consisting out of ZaDarius Smith, Preston Smith, and Rashan Gary, even scarier.
As Rapoport points out, Vikings are still interested in bringing back Griffen despite letting him explore the free-agent market. The veteran pass rusher earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2019, racking up 41 tackle, 8.0 sacks, and one interception.
“I’d love to have him back,” said Minnesota’s head coach Mike Zimmer last week. “He’s always been one of my guys, so if that happens that’d be great. I don’t know where that’s at right now.”
Everson Griffen has been an important piece in Vikings’ defense ever since he joined the franchise as fourth-round pick in 2010. Griffen has a total of 147 NFL games with Minnesota, earning Pro Bowl honors four times and having a Second-team All-Pro selection from 2017.
Griffen’s career stats include 353 tackles, 74.5 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, two interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns.
