Everson Griffen Will Go Down As An All-Time Vikings Great

The now former Vikings defensive end will go down in franchise history as a legend for his contributions as a player and leader.

Everson Griffen began the last decade as an unheralded fourth-round pick looking to prove himself in the NFL. He ended it as one of the greatest pass-rushers in the history of the Minnesota Vikings.

On Friday, Griffen announced that he will not be returning to the Vikings in free agency, sharing a heartfelt goodbye on his Instagram. With the Vikings lacking the cap space to sign Griffen to a new deal at market value, the USC product will move on to another city and another franchise. He will be sorely missed by the Vikings, not only for his on-field ability but for his personality, leadership, and presence in the Twin Cities community.

Griffen's production alone has cemented him as an all-time Vikings great.

After a three-year career at USC, he was selected 100th overall in the 2010 NFL Draft. He joined a team that already featured Jared Allen, Ray Edwards, and Brian Robison at the defensive end position, and knew it would take some time to prove himself and earn playing time. When Edwards left the team before the 2011 season, Griffen became the No. 3 DE on the roster and recorded the first four sacks of his career. In 2012, he broke out with eight sacks and a pick-six, despite playing just over half of the Vikings' defensive snaps.

Heading into the 2014 season, things lined up perfectly for Griffen; Allen had departed after six seasons in Minnesota, and Griffen had signed a five-year deal to stay with the Vikings. In the first year of the Mike Zimmer era, Griffen started all 16 games opposite Robison and exploded for 12 sacks. He added 10.5 sacks in 2015, 8.0 (and his second career touchdown) in 2016, and a career-best 13 in 2017, making the Pro Bowl in each of those years.

Griffen remained productive through his age 31 season last year, recording another eight sacks and working hard to bounce back from a 2018 season in which he missed time to deal with a serious mental-health issue.

He finishes his Vikings career with 74.5 sacks, good for fourth on the Vikings' all-time list. Ahead of Griffen on that list are a pair of Hall of Famers – John Randle and the late Chris Doleman – and a future HOFer in Allen.

But Griffen wasn't just a supremely talented and hard-working pass-rusher. He became the Vikings' emotional leader, regularly giving impassioned pregame speeches and doing whatever else it took to fire his teammates up.

"He brings a lot of juice, a lot of energy," Kirk Cousins said in January. "Tremendous teammate, we love that about him, the energy that he brings. When we didn't have him last year we felt that missing piece because of the energy and the passion. We love him being him and what it brings to the whole group as a unit."

"It shows up in practice. It shows up in the locker room. It shows up in an OTA. Sometimes it’s bantering back and forth with the offense. Sometimes it’s just being an encourager. He’s been a great teammate to me."

Underneath that fire, Griffen was known for his playful personality. Anyone who has watched "96 Questions" on YouTube is familiar with that side of Griffen, the fun-loving guy who got along with everyone in the locker room.

Perhaps the best moment of #Vikings practice today.

Thank you, Everson Griffen. Thank you. 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/LDlEABzC72

— Hobie (@HeyItsMeHobie) January 9, 2020

On top of it all, Griffen gave back to the community, working regularly with Perspectives, a St. Louis Park-based organization that helps struggling mothers and families.

He may be moving on to a different team after ten years, but Griffen will go down in Vikings history as an all-time great.