Everson Griffen re-signed to 5 year deal.

[Wild1210]

 Vikings sign LB Jasper Brinkley

[Mothman]

Tom Pelissero ‏@TomPelissero 1m
Interested to see the full breakout of Griffen's deal but per @ByJimCorbett he gets $27M in first 3 years. Not a backloaded funny-money deal

[frosted]

Good. Those are the sort of deals that haunt you later.

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[Mothman]

Good. Those are the sort of deals that haunt you later.

The big question now is can he deliver as a starter? I hope so. the potential is certainly there.

Ben Goessling tweeted that this move doesn't necessarily take the Vikes out of the Michael Johnson race but since they just gave Robison a new deal and Johnson is likely to cost a bundle, I have to believe otherwise.

[frosted]

I am confident that he can. I know a lot of people like sack numbers, but if Griff comes out of next season, with only six or seven sacks, I don't think that will be indicative of the season he had. Keep in mind, in Zimmer's 7 years as defensive coordinator in Cincy, only two times did a player reach ten or more sacks - Atkins and Johnson. His scheme has the DE lined up over the tackle, which differs quite a bit from how our defense has been for ever. Allen and Robison would line up wide, outside the tackle. Also, Zimmer's defensive line is playing run first. Goessling had a pretty good blog entry about this concept a few days ago.

I do think Griff fits the scheme well. He's strong as hell and plays well at the point of attack. I think he's better against the run than as a pass rusher, but I also like the idea that he can slide inside on obvious passing downs to get a push from the interior. I think we will see a lot more d-line rotation this year.

I agree about Johnson..unless Zimmer thinks Griffen is going to be able to play the SAM position in his defense, there is no way we tie that much up in the defensive end position.

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[Demi]

Thank god. Guy has flashed amazing ability every time he was given a chance to (which wasn't very often). More pass rushers we have the better.

[headless_norseman]

Vikings interested in Michael Johnson


http://espn.go.com/blog/minnesota-vikin ... el-johnson

[King James]

That's a lot of money. He better play lights out this year!

[saint33]

Vikings interested in Michael Johnson


http://espn.go.com/blog/minnesota-vikin ... el-johnson

That's from yesterday. We have since signed Griffen to a hefty contract.

With Johnson (and Verner for that matter) we have expressed interest, but so have a ton of other teams. Johnson may have priced himself out of our interest, which is why we turned to Griffen. I would be extremely surprised to see us go after Johnson now. If Griffen's contract had been more of a prove it, 1-2 year deal type contract, I could see us staying in the running, but we can't afford to pay for a monster contract to a DE now, we have too much money already tied up at the position

[S197]

Vikings were smart to sign the guys they wanted before other teams had the chance. Pretty surprised Griffen didn't make it to free agency, he must want to be here, which is great.

[saint33]

Vikings were smart to sign the guys they wanted before other teams had the chance. Pretty surprised Griffen didn't make it to free agency, he must want to be here, which is great.

I think he just tested his market and found out the Vikings were offering more than any other team.

[HornedMessiah]

Vikings interested in Michael Johnson


http://espn.go.com/blog/minnesota-vikin ... el-johnson

That article is from yesterday and news of the Griffen signing came out today so it's doubtful that Johnson is still a high priority target, especially considering that Johnson likely wants BIG $$$.

I like the signing. We've all seen Griffen flash his playmaking ability from time to time and now he'll get a chance to do it full time. He comes cheaper than Johnson and could be just as good if not better. The saved money also lets the team go out and make even more good FA signings for defense (Verner, who is for sure asking for more money now after the Packers gave a big contract to Shields)

[S197]

I think he just tested his market and found out the Vikings were offering more than any other team.

Maybe. Or the Vikings found out what Johnson is getting offered and decided to go with Griffen.

[King James]

I remember hearing last week that the Vikings would be open to deal both Griffen and Johnson. But that seems to be moot now. I endorse the signing of Griffen over the possibility of signing Johnson. But for 42 million, I expect Griffen to have pro bowl caliber seasons for the next five years.

[S197]

I remember hearing last week that the Vikings would be open to deal both Griffen and Johnson. But that seems to be moot now. I endorse the signing of Griffen over the possibility of signing Johnson. But for 42 million, I expect Griffen to have pro bowl caliber seasons for the next five years.

I'd rather they focus on Verner and Soliai/Joseph now. Johnson is going to tie up way too much cap at the DE position.