Everson Griffen predicted to land in the AFC North this year

Former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen remains unsigned on the free-agent market, but it shouldn’t take much longer for him to land with a new team.

Following his decision to void the rest of his contract in February, most assumed Everson Griffen and the Minnesota Vikings would just agree to a new deal to make sure the defensive end returned to the team for the 2020 season.

However, Griffen made the surprising announcement last week to end contract talks with the Vikings and focus on signing with a new team. The reasoning behind why he has decided to move on from Minnesota is still unknown, but it’s going to be odd to see the defensive end not suit up in purple and gold next season.

As far as what teams could be interested in signing Griffen this year, there are a few that he has connections to who have reportedly considered the pass rusher as a potential addition to their roster. There is one NFL team in particular though that makes a lot of sense for Griffen to sign with this offseason.

NFL.com’s Nick Shook recently predicted where some of the remaining free agents might land this year and for Griffen, he has the former Vikings defensive end signing with the Cleveland Browns.

The connection between Griffen and new Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is the obvious explanation why he could head to Ohio for 2020. But signing with Cleveland would also reunite Griffen with current Browns defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, who spent 2018 with Minnesota.

The dealbreaker for this scenario might be how much playing time Cleveland can offer Griffen for 2020. The Browns already have two starting defensive ends in Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon, but there is a possibility that they might release Vernon since it would free up an extra $15.5 million.

If this happens, then Griffen might be more interested in signing with Cleveland. If the Browns decide to keep Vernon around, however, the former Minnesota defensive end might choose to join a team who can offer him more playing time instead.

It’s hard to know what Griffen is really looking for in his search for a new home this offseason. Does he want to cash in? Does he want a starting role? Does he want to play for a potential Super Bowl contender? Knowing the answer to any of these questions would make it much easier to determine where Griffen might end up this year.

There are a number of reasons to understand why Griffen could end up in Cleveland. But there are also plenty of factors that might prevent him from suiting up for the Browns next season.

All we know is Griffen won’t be playing for the Vikings in 2020. Something that many Minnesota fans are still struggling to believe is an actual reality.