Reacting to Everson Griffen signing with the Dallas Cowboys
Griffen will return to US Bank Stadium this season to chase around Kirk Cousins
*Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings
At the NFL Combine, Mike Zimmer said he wanted Everson Griffen back in Minnesota. On a recent Zoom call with Twin Cities reporters, he reiterated that Griffen would be welcomed back to his spot at right defensive end for the Vikings if he wanted it.
Instead Griffen signed with the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday. NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport reported that the Vikings were actively pursuing Griffen.
Griffen joined his former defensive coordinator George Edwards, now with Dallas, for a very reasonable price at $6 million on a one-year contract (per ESPN’s Kim Martin).
So where does this leave the Vikings?
First it puts them in position to potentially add someone else along the defensive line.
Last week they attempted to trade for PJ Hall but he failed his physical. They could use the cap space that won’t be going to Griffen to sign a defensive tackle like Snacks Harrison or Marcell Dareus or a pass rusher like Terrell Suggs, Jabaal Sheard or Ziggy Ansah.
It seems more realistic than ever but still a long shot that they could go after Jadeveon Clowney. If Griffen can only pull in $6 million on a one-year deal, it’s hard to see Clowney getting anything near his original asking price. He may have to go the Sheldon Richardson route of signing a prove-it deal. OverTheCap lists the Vikings as having $12 million in cap space after getting $5 million back from Michael Pierce’s opt out.
If they stick with the current group, there will be serious pressure on Ifeadi Odenigbo to fill Griffen’s shoes — and on Danielle Hunter to handle all the extra chips and double teams that Griffen has taken on in the past. While Odenigbo had 7.0 sacks last season, he ranked 66th in pressure rate (per PFF). Griffen was 45th in pressure rate but he played all situations and had the sixth most snaps among all defensive ends in the NFL.
The Vikings likely won’t ask Odenigbo to handle the entire load even if they don’t sign someone. They could rotate either veterans Anthony Zettel or Eddie Yarbrough or hope to see either rookie DJ Wonnum or Kenny Willekes step up into a role right away.
The open cap space space might be held to sign Dalvin Cook to an extension or carried over to next year. The Vikings could also spend elsewhere on a veteran corner like Logan Ryan or Dre Kirkpatrick if the Vikings aren’t confident in their young group or at guard on Ron Leary if they want to add a veteran to the offensive line mix.
If we look at everything through the lens of players being worth points and wins, the loss of Griffen can be managed so long as they find ways to create pressure (which may have to be schemed in the form of blitzes). However, the biggest downside of Griffen landing in Dallas is the fact that the Vikings will have to face him.
We have seen edge rushers with exceptional quickness (a la Jerry Hughes, Khalil Mack) give Riley Reiff trouble in the past. Griffen vs. Reiff is not a favorable matchup for the Vikings in a game in which they might have to win a shootout versus a high-powered Dallas offense. Even in his early-30s, nobody wants to face an extra-amped Everson Griffen.
One thing to be considered is what the Vikings’ pursuit of Griffen means. At times there were mixed messages this offseason about whether they wanted to look more toward the future or push to win the NFC North. They signed Michael Pierce but tried to trade Anthony Harris after franchise tagging him. They signed Kirk Cousins to an extension but traded Stefon Diggs for a first-round pick.
After keeping Harris on the tag, it makes sense that they would lean more in the direction of pushing to win rather than looking to find out what type of talent they have in younger players. We will see if that mentality comes to fruition with another signing or trade or if the Vikings end up in discovery mode along the D-line for 2020.
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