Vikings get life with return of DE Griffen
A Sunday night game against the New Orleans Saints would be enough to occupy the Minnesota Vikings’ thoughts this week. A rematch of the “Minnesota Miracle” would be an appropriate subplot to a matchup between two of the NFC’s best teams.
Wednesday brought a different feeling for Minnesota.
While the Vikings prepared for the Saints, defensive end Everson Griffen returned to the team for the first time since a series of occurrences that led to Griffen being transported to the hospital for a mental-health evaluation.
“Morale’s up,” Minnesota defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson said about Griffen’s return. “Camaraderie off a win. Got Griff back. Everything’s up right now. I can’t complain about nothing. I’m happy he’s back.”
Griffen has been away from the team since Sept. 22 when he had a series of alarming incidents. Griffen reportedly had threatened staff at a local hotel where he was staying before leaving the scene. According to a police report, Griffen later acted erratically with his wife and had entered the home of teammate Trae Waynes uninvited.
The police report said Griffen was seen in the bushes near Waynes’ home without a shirt and was eventually found by police at his home where he “made several comments about people trying to kill him, referenced 777 and God several times.”
He was transported to a local hospital but not before he had jumped out of an ambulance fearing someone was trying to hurt him. Police talked Griffen back into the ambulance and escorted the Vikings’ defensive end to the hospital.
“First off, I want to take full responsibility for my actions that went on in September,” Griffen said in a press conference at the team facilities on Wednesday. “I had a lot of support from my family, the Minnesota Vikings, the doctors, my teammates, the fans and you know I want to give my apologies to people I impacted. I’m sorry if I affected them in any type of way.
“I’m just excited to get back here with my team and get back to the grind of things. It’s been hard to be away but I’m happy to be back. It’s a good feeling right now and I’m taking IT one day at a time and one thing at a time to get things back on track.”
Remorseful but sporting a smile and happy to be back with the team, Griffen said the time away was good for him and that he’s working on a plan for improvement.
“We’ve got a plan in place and we’re going to execute the plan day in and day out,” Griffen said. “We’re going to stay on top of it and that’s our goal. This is bigger than football. It’s part of the plan. I’m excited to be back.”
Griffen, a three-time Pro Bowl defensive end, has missed five games while he was receiving treatment. He declined to discuss specifics of what happened or what his recovery has been like but said he would tell his story at a later time.
“You know, I learned a lot about the man outside of football,” Griffen said. “I had a lot of time to reflect on my life and where I want to go and the decisions I made, and I just want to get better with some of my decisions that I made and just improve on them.”
Richardson said Griffen looked “bright eyed and bushy tailed” when he returned. Teammates were excited to welcome Griffen back, as was HEAD coach Mike Zimmer. Griffen was at the team facilities on Tuesday and met with Zimmer.
“This is an illness and he’s done a good job of helping to get better and continues to try to get better and he is probably going to have to continue to do that just like we all have to do in life,” Zimmer said. “We all have to try and improve on the things we’re working on and trying to get better at.”
There was no timeline on his return, but Griffen said the time away was important.
“It was a time and place where I needed this in my life and I’m happy it was the right time,” Griffen said. “It was the perfect time for me.”
Griffen said he’s worked out in the time away but still needs to work himself back into position to play. Zimmer wouldn’t say if Griffen might play on Sunday against New Orleans and the team just wants to see how Griffen progresses throughout the week.
Griffen hopes to one day speak about what he went through so that he can help others. He did offer one bit of advice in his few minutes with the media on Wednesday.
“You’ve got to put your pride aside,” Griffen said. “Sometimes you’ve just got to put your pride aside and know when enough is enough. Sometimes you’ve got to take it upon yourself and know when enough is enough and when you can’t handle it. When life is too much, you can’t find that balance. That’s all I try to do is find that balance and work towards my health and wellness. And not just football. It’s bigger than football. It’s my life, my family, my kids.”
SERIES HISTORY: 30th regular-season meeting. Vikings lead series, 19-10. The Saints have won three of the last four regular-season meetings, but this particular matchup looms large because of what happened in the playoffs. Perhaps you’ve heard of it, the “Minnesota Miracle.” New Orleans and Minnesota met last year in an NFC divisional playoff game and played an instant classic. The Vikings, at home, built a 17-0 lead, but Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw three second-half touchdowns to give his team the lead. New Orleans twice led in the second half, including a 24-23 advantage with 25 seconds left. That’s when Case Keenum and Stefon Diggs ensured the game would be remembered forever in Vikings’ history. On third-and-10 with 10 seconds left from his own 39-yard line, Keenum dropped back and lofted a pass toward the sideline to Diggs. Diggs went high to catch the pass with Saints defensive back Marcus Williams diving and missing Diggs, who turned upfield and went untouched 61 yards as time expired for the game-winning play.
