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When ex-Vikings star Everson Griffen joined the Cowboys this past offseason, he was poised to make his return to Minnesota in Week 11, when the Cowboys visit the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
The Cowboys, unhappy with Griffen after seven games this season, started shopping Griffen to other teams this week. Now, it’s official — his homecoming is in two weeks.
No, the Vikings did not trade for him. The Lions did.
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Griffen’s Departure Spurred By Kirk Cousins’ Extension
The Lions traded a conditional sixth-round pick to the Cowboys for Griffen on Tuesday, sending Griffen to his third team this calendar year after he voided his contract with the Vikings this past offseason.
It’s important to note that Griffen, who met benchmarks set on a rare player-controlled option contract, did not void his contract this past offseason out of a distaste for the team that drafted him.
Griffen, who totaled eight sacks and played on 78 percent of defensive snaps to earn his fourth Pro Bowl season in 2019, saw the writing on the wall that his contract could be cut after Kirk Cousins’ $66 million two-year contract extension in March.
Griffen already restructured his contract and took a pay cut in 2019, pushing more of his earnings to the final three years of his deal. His $12.9 million cap hit in 2020 would have likely made him a cap causality amid the mass exodus of veteran contract this past offseason. The Vikings low-balled Griffen in March when he became a free agent and remained in contact with general manager Rick Spielman throughout the 2020 offseason before taking a $6 million single-year deal with the Cowboys. He has 2.5 sacks on the season and 20 combined tackles.
Here’s Griffen’s goodbye he wrote to the franchise following his decision to opt out of his contract.
Griffen Joins Several Former Vikings in Detroit
Due to COVID-19 protocols, Griffen will undergo a five-day quarantine in Detroit before he can practice, leaving his debut with the Lions to Nov. 8 against the Vikings.
He joins former Vikings on the Lions in future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson and safety Jayron Kearse in a homecoming and NFC North basement brawl that will be proving grounds for both teams. Joe Webb, a quarterback-wide receiver prospect the Vikings drafted the same year as Griffen, is also on the Lions’ practice squad.
Fans likely won’t be in attendance for the game which will put a damper on what would be a raucous reunion, however, it should make for some entertaining storylines as Griffen and Kearse key in on Cousins and Peterson will try to conjure some of his former glory in the stadium he played just two games as a Viking in.
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