Report: Lions Trade for Defensive End Everson Griffen

Read more on the Detroit Lions trading for defensive end Everson Griffen

The Detroit Lions have bolstered their defensive line by trading for defensive end Everson Griffen, according to a report from NFL Network. 

Trade! #Cowboys DE Everson Griffen is being traded to the #Lions in exchange for draft pick compensation, sources say. Detroit, winners of two in a row, is added a big-time veteran pass-rusher.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 27, 2020

"Trade! #Cowboys DE Everson Griffen is being traded to the #Lions in exchange for draft pick compensation, sources say. Detroit, winners of two in a row, added a big-time veteran pass-rusher," Ian Rapoport tweeted Tuesday afternoon. 

A conditional sixth-round pick was a reasonable cost to give up for general manager Bob Quinn.

Griffen, a four-time Pro Bowler, has been a thorn in Detroit's side for years.

The USC product has also been a menace for opposing quarterbacks in the league since his first full season of playing in games back in 2011. Since then, he's recorded at least four sacks each season, including at least eight sacks each year from 2014-17.

His single-season high came in 2017 when he recorded 13 sacks. That also happened to be a season in which the Vikings went 13-3, finished in first place in the NFC North, and made the NFC Championship Game (lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, 38-7).

A fourth-round pick (No. 100 overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft, Griffen could provide valuable depth for Matt Patricia's defense. 

Because of the NFL's COVID-19 procedures, Detroit won't have the services of the veteran defensive end until Week 9 when the team faces the Minnesota Vikings.

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