Everson Griffen Proving To Be A Sound Investment In Vikings Future
By Adam Carlson
This offseason, Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen signed a massive deal to stay with the team for the next 5 years. The deal was a huge one, worth $8.5 million per year with $19.8 million guaranteed.
Many fans reacted in horror at Everson Griffen’s deal. Feeling that he was grossly overpaid to stay with the team, they got angered that the money wasn’t instead used to improve the talent at other positions on the team. Things got even worse when former Vikings defensive end and future Hall of Famer Jared Allen signed a deal with the Chicago Bears for $8 million per year with only $15.5 million guaranteed.
So far this year, Everson Griffen is off to a fast start. He is currently tied for second in the NFL in sacks with 7 sacks while Jared Allen only has 1.5 sacks for Chicago. While Jared has been dealing with illness, a difference of 5.5 sacks is quite a wide margin through 7 games.
Aug 8, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen (97) gets ready to play the Oakland Raiders at TCF Bank Stadium. Vikings win 10-6. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Here are Griffen’s statistics through seven games:
- 25 tackles
- 7 sacks
- 20 sack yards
- 1 forced fumble
- 1 blocked kick
Everson Griffen is in his first year as a full time starter in the NFL. Previously, he was just used in pass rush packages and lined up at either defensive end or defensive tackle. There were also experiments to see if he could succeed playing linebacker because of his athleticism. But it seems like he’s finally found a comfortable spot on defense, and it is as a starting defensive end.
The Minnesota Vikings will be relying to Everson Griffen to establish a pass rush. Veteran defensive end Brian Robison is struggling to get sacks this year and Minnesota is going to need Everson to hold down the ship until Robison can get back on track.
However, it appears that for now, the Vikings have made a pretty sound investment locking Everson Griffen on a long-term deal. Hopefully, he can continue to prove his fans, and the team, right.