Minnesota Vikings Will ‘Never Say Never’ To Everson Griffen Returning, GM Says

Ever since the Minnesota Vikings allowed Everson Griffen to become a free agent, there have been questions about whether or not the team might bring back the defensive end. While the chances of a reunion are smaller post-2020 draft, Vikings GM Rick Spielman recently said he would “never say never” to the possibility of the player coming back.

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk pointed out the Vikings likely drafted Griffen’s replacement when they took South Carolina pass rusher D.J. Wonnum in the fourth round. Still, Spielman talked about the door not being totally closed on bringing back the veteran defender.

“It is hard to say right now where everything is at and where we are at, [but] until things become more normalized I will never say never on a player. I know it will be very hard on a salary cap standpoint. I don’t want to get into the business side of it, but right now I know where our roster is.”

Despite making it sound like there was very little chance the roster had room for Griffen, he added a caveat, saying that “the roster is never set.”

However, Florio pointed out Spielman then made a comment about other teams releasing players the general manager never would have thought were available.

That’s not the situation when it comes to Griffen. He’s a free agent right now. If the Vikings wanted to bring him back, they wouldn’t need to wait for another team to cut him loose.

Spielman went on to talk about how the team’s front office is always working through various scenarios where they might bring in another player. Florio believes that if the Vikings were going to do something like bring back Griffen, this would be the offseason in which it would happen.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the chances of a very limited offseason are very good. That means teams are going to be leaning toward players they know and who know a team’s system. Having spent his entire 10-year career with the Vikings so far, Griffen knows their system inside and out. If the team feels the need to add another defensive end in the near future, Florio believes there is a chance something could get done with the veteran player.

On the other hand, the analyst points out the Vikings have a salary cap issue. That is the main reason the two sides parted earlier in the spring. In order for Spielman to bring Griffen back, there would have to be movement to get more space under the cap before the season kicks off.