Minnesota Vikings News & Rumors

Everson Griffen is off the Vikings’ active roster, as of Friday. The team placed the veteran defensive end on its reserve/non-football illness list.

This news comes two days after an incident at Griffen’s home in which the 33-year-old defender refused to leave the premises. Griffen called police himself and requested assistance. He told the dispatcher that he had fired a round and that someone was with him, but police later said that no intruder was found and no one was injured.

Law enforcement and Vikings team psychologists began communicating with Griffen around 7am Wednesday. He wrote in an Instagram story that he needed help and people were “trying to kill” him, via ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin.

Griffen did end up leaving his home at around 1:30pm, and the Vikings have confirmed the 12th-year veteran — who returned to Minnesota this year after spending the 2020 season with Dallas and Detroit — is receiving appropriate care. The Minntrista (Minn.) PD is investigating the matter, Cronin tweets.

“Law enforcement agencies have notified us Everson Griffen came out of his home without incident and is now getting the care he needs,” the Vikings said in a statement. “We are thankful to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the Carver County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnetrista Police Department and the Orono Police Department for their quick response and dedication to ensuring the situation ended peacefully. Our focus remains on Everson’s health and safety and providing the proper resources for him and his family.”

Beyond contact with staffers, Griffen has not been with the team this week. He will not play Sunday and must miss at least three games because of the reserve/NFI designation. Griffen has registered five sacks in nine games this season. While Danielle Hunter’s six still leads the team, the Pro Bowl D-end is out for the season. The absence of Griffen, a four-time Pro Bowler, will obviously hurt an already-limited Vikings pass rush.

This certainly reminds of the 2018 development that led to Griffen missing time. Griffen was involved in several bizarre incidents that led to his absence from the team for a few weeks. He later revealed in April 2020 that he lived in a sober house from October 2018 through the end of that season. While Griffen indicated that he was not diagnosed with a serious mental health issue like bipolar disorder, he was continuing to speak with a team of therapists, clinical psychologists and a life coach.

3:35pm: This unfortunate situation appears to have ended on a positive note. The Vikings released a second statement regarding Griffen, indicating the veteran defensive end came out of his home peacefully and is now receiving care (Twitter link).

11:45am: We have a developing story on Vikings DE Everson Griffen. Early Wednesday morning, as Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune writes, Griffen posted to Instagram screenshots of text messages he sent to his agent, Brian Murphy. Those messages asked Murphy to call 911 because “people are trying to kill me.”

Around 3am, Griffen called police himself and requested assistance. He told the dispatcher that he had fired a round and that someone was with him, but police later said that no intruder was found and no one was injured.

Per the news release from the Minnetrista PD, which Lou Raguse of KARE 11 tweeted out, the police and Vikings staff members have been in contact with Griffen, but Griffen has refused to come out of his home. However, officers are confident that Griffen is alone in the house.

The team issued the following statement:

“Vikings representatives and the team’s mental health professionals have been on-site at Everson Griffen’s home since early this morning and are cooperating with law enforcement. Our only concern at this time is the safety and well-being of Everson and his family. We will have further comment at the appropriate time.”

Head coach Mike Zimmer did not offer any insight on the matter, saying, “the only thing I can comment on is for health and well being for [Griffen’s] family” (Twitter link via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). When asked whether Griffen was safe, Zimmer replied that he did not know. GM Rick Spielman will offer further updates at some point today (Twitter link via Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com).

Today’s events evoke memories of September 2018, when Griffen was involved in several bizarre incidents that led to his absence from the team for a few weeks. The soon-to-be 34-year-old later revealed in April 2020 that he lived in a sober house from October 2018 through the end of the 2018 season, and while he indicated that he was not diagnosed with a serious mental health issue like bipolar disorder, he was continuing to speak with a team of therapists, clinical psychologists, and a life coach.

He ended up earning a Pro Bowl bid in 2019 before opting out of his contract with the Vikings and splitting the 2020 season between the Cowboys and Lions. He returned to Minnesota in August, and he has been productive this year. In nine games, he has posted five sacks and has played well enough to regain his old job as the club’s starting RDE. He has started the last six contests, and while Pro Football Focus considers him a middle-of-the-road contributor overall, his 79.0 pass rush grade is a top-five mark among edge defenders.

Cronin was among those to tweet about Griffen’s social media posts before full-length pieces were published and the police report was released.