Minnesota Vikings News & Rumors

Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen isn’t sure when he’ll return to the field after undergoing a mental health evaluation following a bizarre weekend which included police being called, as Griffen indicated in a statement released Thursday night.

“This past week’s events have raised many questions and I apologize to everyone who was impacted,” Griffen said. “I am currently focused on resolving personal issues with which I have been dealing for a long time. Once I have had time to address those issues, I hope to share my story with everyone.”

“I am extremely grateful for the support I have received from my family, the Vikings organization, my teammates and our tremendous fan base. I apologize for not being able to take the field with my teammates and do not have an exact timeline for my return. I promise, however, I will return as a much-improved person and player.”

Police were called to Minneapolis hotel Saturday following reports Griffen was threatening to assault staff members, and Griffen later reportedly behaved erratically outside teammate Trae Waynes‘ home. The Vikings and Griffen reached an agreement that he would stay away from the Vikings until he was in a better mental state.

On the field, Minnesota has deployed 2016 seventh-round pick Stephen Weatherly in place of Griffen, while Tashawn Bower has also seen an increase in snaps over the past two weeks.

This week, local police said the Vikings told Everson Griffen that he could not return to the team until he received a mental health evaluation. That’s not exactly the case, according to ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin. Instead, she hears that Griffen was told to not worry about practice last week or the game against the Bills. Both sides, she hears, were in agreement that Griffen would stay away from the club until he was in a better mental state. 

Meanwhile, there’s some mystery as to whether Griffen attempted to break into into the home of teammate Trae Waynes. A person called the police to say that Griffen was in the bushes of the home and appeared to be looking for entry, but Waynes has issued a statement denying that there was an attempted break-in.

“To clarify, there was no attempted break-in at our home and at no point did my family or I feel unsafe,” Waynes said. “We are friends with the Griffen family and we are here to support them in any way possible during these trying times.”

Waynes did not deny that Griffen appeared at their home, so it seems quite possible that Griffen arrived unannounced at Waynes’ property and was acting erratically. However, it sounds like there was no real break-in attempt, and the lack of charges from local authorities seems to support that.

Still, there are many questions left to be answered when it comes to Griffen and his ongoing issues.

Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen is being evaluated and treated at a mental health facility, sources tell Paul Walsh of the Star Tribune. This comes after his wife phoned police with concern about his behavior. 

Police were called to a downtown Minneapolis hotel on Saturday where he was threatening to assault staff employees and lying on the lobby floor. Later that day, Griffen’s wife contacted police to tell them that Griffen had sped off in a vehicle with another person and was not wearing a shirt. He returned later on, but police then received a call from a woman who said that Griffen was either breaking into the home of teammate Trae Waynes or trying to break in. A woman said she saw a shirtless Griffen at one point in the bushes of the yard.

Vikings player development director Les Pico told police that Griffen has not been himself for a few weeks and added that the team sent Griffen’s camp a letter on Thursday saying he wasn’t allowed back until he had a mental health evaluation (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com). The hotel incident on Saturday did not result in charges, so Griffen has been cleared by local authorities. It also appears that he was not forced to enter a mental health facility – rather, he is there voluntarily.

It’s a scary situation for Griffen, who inked a four-year, $58MM extension with the Vikings in 2017. No one knows exactly what’s going on with the three-time Pro Bowler, and the Vikings are understandably concerned about his overall wellbeing.