Speaking with the local Minnesota media on Tuesday, the Vikings defensive end expressed his excitement to now be able to tackle his former teammate in 2017.
There have been a number of different reactions from the Minnesota Vikings and their fans after news broke on early Tuesday morning that Adrian Peterson had officially found a new home with the New Orleans Saints. Some were angry, others were sad, while a bunch were happy for the former Vikings running back and his new opportunity.
But Minnesota will not have to wait very long to see Peterson back on the field at U.S. Bank Stadium as he and the Saints will be facing the Vikings in Week 1 of the 2017 NFL season on Monday Night Football. The former Minnesota running back is finally going to experience what it is truly like to play against a Mike Zimmer defense.
Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen was asked on Tuesday by the local media about the team’s opportunity to go against their former running back and Mr. Griffen delivered with a beautiful answer.
"“It’s hard to see him go but at the same time it’s going to be fun going out there and finally get to go hit him. We always talked about it because you were never able to touch him during practice. We always had to run by him and tag off. But I think it’s going to be a fun opportunity now because every time we do I’ll be like, ‘Oh I can’t wait, oh I can’t wait.’ But now we get the opportunity to go out there and really hit him so it’s going to be fun.”– Everson Griffen"
When he gave this response, Griffen spoke in a bit of a joking tone. But at the same time, he is also very excited to pound his former teammate into the turf.
He likely is also not the only one on Minnesota’s defense who has these kind of feelings about the team facing Peterson in Week 1.
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So it has not even been a full day yet since Peterson joined the Saints and yet there are already so many more reasons to look forward to the Vikings’ first game of the 2017 season. Only 19 more Mondays to go.