But it’s been Everson Griffen, unsigned after finishing last season with Detroit, who has made the biggest impact there.
Signed after an Aug. 18 tryout, Griffen, 33, worked his way back into the starting lineup by showing the form that made him one of the NFL’s best rush ends during his first stint with the team that selected him out of Southern Cal in the fourth round of the 2010 draft.
He has four sacks, three tackles for loss and seven quarterback hits in six games heading into Sunday night’s game against Dallas, which released him after seven games last season.
“You know, Dallas was cool,” Griffen said Friday, “but we need to go out there and get this win.”
The Vikings (3-3) have won three of their past four and are coming off their bye week to start a four-game stretch against teams with a combined 21-6 record after Green Bay’s 24-21 victory Thursday in Arizona.
Griffen said he feels more like he’s 26 or 27 years old and has played like he did at that age. Starting in 2012, when he first played all 16 of the team’s games, Griffen averaged 35.8 tackles, 9.2 tackles for loss and 7.8 sacks in nine seasons in Minnesota.
He started only two of 14 games in Dallas and Detroit last year, finishing with 33 tackles, six of them sacks. But he found no takers after playing last season on a $6 million contract. The Vikings are paying him $1.1 million with an $850,000 cap hit, a bargain for the production.
Asked if he ever doubted he would regain his form, the veteran said, “There was never no doubt.”
“When you know what you can do,” he added, “the only thing you need is an opportunity, and they gave me an opportunity, and I’m here to do what I can do and ready to play ball.”
The Vikings have been so happy with Griffen, he’ll start his third straight game on Sunday; the previous two were wins over Detroit and at Carolina. Coach Mike Zimmer said Friday the team limits all veterans during practice to keep them healthy but added it’s difficult to pull Griffen from games. All but one game this season has come down to the final play, two in overtime.
He played a season-high 85 percent of defensive snaps in a 34-28 victory over the Panthers on Oct. 17.
“It’s hard. He doesn’t want to come out,” Zimmer said. “And when the game’s on the line, we don’t want him out. And unfortunately every game’s on the line. That’s part of it. But we try to take care of him during the week the best we can. It’s important, he’s kind of the Energizer Bunny we have on the defense anyway.”
The Cowboys (5-1) lead the NFC East and have the NFL’s top defense but might be without quarterback Dak Prescott on Sunday night, a nationally televised game that would go a long way to establishing the Vikings as a legitimate contender after a 1-3 start.
Prescott has been limited by a calf injury and said Thursday there likely won’t be a decision on whether he plays until Saturday. In that case, the Vikings would see backup Cooper Rush, who has played three snaps without a pass attempt this season.
The Vikings defense has been playing well, too. It is tied with Chicago for the NFL lead with 21 sacks, alone at the top in quarterback hurries (32.1%) and second in third-down defense (29.17%).
“I think overall defensively we started out a little slow, but we’ve picked it up the last four weeks,” Zimmer said.
The Link LonkOctober 30, 2021 at 05:33AM
https://www.pinejournal.com/sports/football/7261079-Limit-Everson-Griffen%E2%80%99s-snaps-%E2%80%98It%E2%80%99s-hard%E2%80%99-says-Vikings-coach-Mike-Zimmer
Limit Everson Griffen's snaps? 'It's hard,' says Vikings coach Mike Zimmer - Pine Journal
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