The veteran defensive end has missed the past two games for the Minnesota Vikings as he continues to work on improving his mental health.
During the first two weeks of the 2018 season, it seemed like there was nothing that could slow down the defensive line of the Minnesota Vikings.
In Weeks 1 and 2, the Vikings’ defense racked up a total of 45 quarterback pressures, including eight sacks. But during their last two games, Minnesota has just four sacks and 27 total pressures.
Unfortunately, the reason for the decline in pressure is not hard to figure out. The Vikings have not had defensive end and pass-rushing extraordinaire Everson Griffen in the lineup for the past two weeks.
Following a few weeks of unusual behavior and a series of incidents that resulted in him checking into a hospital for a mental health evaluation, Griffen has been absent from the team’s facilities since their Week 2 tie with the Green Bay Packers.
In a recent statement released by the veteran pass rusher, he revealed that he is unsure when exactly he will return to the field for Minnesota this season.
Well according to Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer, Griffen won’t be coming back anytime soon.
During a conference call with reporters last Friday, Zimmer informed everyone that the Minnesota defensive end will not be practicing this week or playing in the team’s Week 5 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
It is unfortunate that the Vikings won’t have Griffen back for their big showdown against the Eagles. But at the same time, the defensive end needs to be putting himself and his family before football at this point and improving his mental health is what is most important.
Without Griffen though, Minnesota’s defense is going to have to figure out something to generate more pressure on the quarterback this week. If not, the Vikings could possibly be looking at their third-straight loss.