Vikings working out Everson Griffen

[Pondering Her Percy]

Vikings working out Everson Griffen tomorrow per source.

I’ve been calling this for a while now and put this in my mock offseason. Seems like a no-brainer. Knows the system, is a leader and still has some juice left

[StumpHunter]

Been calling for this since the start of free agency and figured Zimmer would be on the phone with Griff's agent after watching Wonnum and Weatherly struggle against backups. If the Vikings cut Weatherly and give the 2 million they save to Griffen it is a net 0 cost, and whole lot gained.

[S197]

So Hunter, Griffen, Wonnun, Weatherly, Jones and Robinson all make the team? Keeping 6 DEs is a lot and I don't see them cutting anyone unless they realize Weatherly isn't a good fit, which is super weird seeing as they just signed him and have a ton of eval on him.

If Everson's mental health is okay then maybe worth a shot but I'm very skeptical.

[StumpHunter]

So Hunter, Griffen, Wonnun, Weatherly, Jones and Robinson all make the team? Keeping 6 DEs is a lot and I don't see them cutting anyone unless they realize Weatherly isn't a good fit, which is super weird seeing as they just signed him and have a ton of eval on him.

If Everson's mental health is okay then maybe worth a shot but I'm very skeptical.

Weatherly would be cut in a minute. It is not a coincidence he was the only starter forced to prove himself in the first preseason game and it isn't a coincidence that after that preseason game where he played just awful against backups, the Vikings are reaching out to Griffen.

[RandyMoss84]

It would be nice to bring Griffen back to mentor the young players

[S197]

So Hunter, Griffen, Wonnun, Weatherly, Jones and Robinson all make the team? Keeping 6 DEs is a lot and I don't see them cutting anyone unless they realize Weatherly isn't a good fit, which is super weird seeing as they just signed him and have a ton of eval on him.

If Everson's mental health is okay then maybe worth a shot but I'm very skeptical.

Weatherly would be cut in a minute. It is not a coincidence he was the only starter forced to prove himself in the first preseason game and it isn't a coincidence that after that preseason game where he played just awful against backups, the Vikings are reaching out to Griffen.

You’re probably right but if this is the case, it’s a bit of egg on the face of Zimmer and Spielman. Weatherly and what he brings is a known commodity out here. Did they really expect someone wholly different? I guess if there’s no guaranteed money and they found an upgrade then good. It’s just a weird situation, it’s not like he’s a camp body, they had him fighting to be the starter and now he’s getting cut?

[Pondering Her Percy]

Been calling for this since the start of free agency and figured Zimmer would be on the phone with Griff's agent after watching Wonnum and Weatherly struggle against backups. If the Vikings cut Weatherly and give the 2 million they save to Griffen it is a net 0 cost, and whole lot gained.

Exactly. I’ve said all along, weatherly is a very “meh”/boring DE. He was greatly out produced by Odenigbo last time he was here and odenigbo took a lot less snaps. If we sign Griff there is zero reason we should keep weatherly rostered.

I said after the denver game that if there was a shining star for me (even tho there weren’t many) it was Patrick Jones. He was constantly disrupting. Robinson is a project but a project that I want to see over time. And wonnum is a better version of weatherly and only going into his second year.

If Hunter, Griff, Wonnum, Jones and Robinson aren’t the final 5 DEs on this team by the end of camp, I’d be shocked.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Weatherly would be cut in a minute. It is not a coincidence he was the only starter forced to prove himself in the first preseason game and it isn't a coincidence that after that preseason game where he played just awful against backups, the Vikings are reaching out to Griffen.

You’re probably right but if this is the case, it’s a bit of egg on the face of Zimmer and Spielman. Weatherly and what he brings is a known commodity out here. Did they really expect someone wholly different? I guess if there’s no guaranteed money and they found an upgrade then good. It’s just a weird situation, it’s not like he’s a camp body, they had him fighting to be the starter and now he’s getting cut?

There’s no doubt in my mind that Griffen has been on their radar all along. I think it was more the fact of giving weatherly that shot or to see if wonnum or a rookie stepped up but they are quickly finding out that’s not the case although I can see Patrick Jones as a future starting DE for us. But we all know the last thing mike zimmer does is give a rookie (on either side of the ball) a starting job day 1 unless he’s absolutely forced to. Hell, JJ didn’t see the field as a starter until week 3 and was arguably a top 10 WR in the entire league this year. Fricken Bisi Johnson was starting over him

[S197]

You’re probably right but if this is the case, it’s a bit of egg on the face of Zimmer and Spielman. Weatherly and what he brings is a known commodity out here. Did they really expect someone wholly different? I guess if there’s no guaranteed money and they found an upgrade then good. It’s just a weird situation, it’s not like he’s a camp body, they had him fighting to be the starter and now he’s getting cut?

There’s no doubt in my mind that Griffen has been on their radar all along. I think it was more the fact of giving weatherly that shot or to see if wonnum or a rookie stepped up but they are quickly finding out that’s not the case although I can see Patrick Jones as a future starting DE for us. But we all know the last thing mike zimmer does is give a rookie (on either side of the ball) a starting job day 1 unless he’s absolutely forced to. Hell, JJ didn’t see the field as a starter until week 3 and was arguably a top 10 WR in the entire league this year. Fricken Bisi Johnson was starting over him

Yeah that’s plausible, I thought both Jones and Robinson had pretty good moments against Denver. I worry about Everson making it 17 games but he’s definitely a big positive in the locker room when his mental state is healthy.

[Dames]

I worry about Everson making it 17 games but he’s definitely a big positive in the locker room when his mental state is healthy.

Well, except maybe towards Cousins....

[VikingPaul73]

There’s no doubt in my mind that Griffen has been on their radar all along. I think it was more the fact of giving weatherly that shot or to see if wonnum or a rookie stepped up but they are quickly finding out that’s not the case although I can see Patrick Jones as a future starting DE for us. But we all know the last thing mike zimmer does is give a rookie (on either side of the ball) a starting job day 1 unless he’s absolutely forced to. Hell, JJ didn’t see the field as a starter until week 3 and was arguably a top 10 WR in the entire league this year. Fricken Bisi Johnson was starting over him

Yeah that’s plausible, I thought both Jones and Robinson had pretty good moments against Denver. I worry about Everson making it 17 games but he’s definitely a big positive in the locker room when his mental state is healthy.

Good point as he’s getting a bit long in the tooth. My guess is they would rotate him a lot- get some snaps for Wonnum and maybe the rookies as well later in the season if they earn it.

I also agree with those stating Weatherly will be gone if this happens

[VikingsVictorious]

Yeah that’s plausible, I thought both Jones and Robinson had pretty good moments against Denver. I worry about Everson making it 17 games but he’s definitely a big positive in the locker room when his mental state is healthy.

Good point as he’s getting a bit long in the tooth. My guess is they would rotate him a lot- get some snaps for Wonnum and maybe the rookies as well later in the season if they earn it.

I also agree with those stating Weatherly will be gone if this happens

I think Everson has too many issues to be worth signing. Seriously even if you don't like Kirk you can't post for the world to see that he is ####. I don't trust his mental state.

[Pondering Her Percy]

There’s no doubt in my mind that Griffen has been on their radar all along. I think it was more the fact of giving weatherly that shot or to see if wonnum or a rookie stepped up but they are quickly finding out that’s not the case although I can see Patrick Jones as a future starting DE for us. But we all know the last thing mike zimmer does is give a rookie (on either side of the ball) a starting job day 1 unless he’s absolutely forced to. Hell, JJ didn’t see the field as a starter until week 3 and was arguably a top 10 WR in the entire league this year. Fricken Bisi Johnson was starting over him

Yeah that’s plausible, I thought both Jones and Robinson had pretty good moments against Denver. I worry about Everson making it 17 games but he’s definitely a big positive in the locker room when his mental state is healthy.

Yeah honestly I’m not too worried about that. If anything, the Vikings will have the pieces in place if he needs the help mentally. They did in the past. In terms of durability, even though he’s older, he’s always been a pretty durable player

[J. Kapp 11]

I wonder how this would play in the locker room.

Lots of you guys are suggesting that he'd be a great guy to have, but let's not forget that he burned a lot of bridges on his way out.

Not saying they shouldn't sign him if he's still got the goods. I just wonder. Locker room cohesion is pretty important. I would think he'd need to be significantly better than any of the alternatives in order for the Vikings to risk chemistry.

Of course, we are talking Weatherly and Wonnum, so it might not be too hard for even and old Griffen to be an upgrade.

[CharVike]

You’re probably right but if this is the case, it’s a bit of egg on the face of Zimmer and Spielman. Weatherly and what he brings is a known commodity out here. Did they really expect someone wholly different? I guess if there’s no guaranteed money and they found an upgrade then good. It’s just a weird situation, it’s not like he’s a camp body, they had him fighting to be the starter and now he’s getting cut?

There’s no doubt in my mind that Griffen has been on their radar all along. I think it was more the fact of giving weatherly that shot or to see if wonnum or a rookie stepped up but they are quickly finding out that’s not the case although I can see Patrick Jones as a future starting DE for us. But we all know the last thing mike zimmer does is give a rookie (on either side of the ball) a starting job day 1 unless he’s absolutely forced to. Hell, JJ didn’t see the field as a starter until week 3 and was arguably a top 10 WR in the entire league this year. Fricken Bisi Johnson was starting over him

Barr started from day 1. Gladney started 15, EJ 11, O'neil 11. IMO Darisaw could still start. Unfortunately for all it's taking much longer to recover from his groin problem. If everything goes perfect he could still start week 1. The expectation is he will be ready by then. Hopefully he is which will be a benefit. It's better than the swinging gate we have now. The coaches are around these guys every day. They know who is ready and who isn't. Pre season games mean nothing. Sloter had some great games and he has a hard time making a practice squad but he does have great physical tools but didn't play much in college which didn't help him.