Everson Griffen's Agent Says DE Won't Return to Vikings, Focused on Free Agency

Veteran defensive end Everson Griffen will not re-sign with the Minnesota Vikings in free agency. 

Griffen's agent, Brian Murphy, told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero the following regarding his client's status on the open market: "We have broken off talks with Minnesota because they have to spend their money elsewhere and we decided to now focus our attention on free agency."

The 32-year-old Griffen has spent his entire 10-year NFL career with the Vikings and has been named to the Pro Bowl four times.

Minnesota took Griffen with the 100th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft out of USC and it wasn't long before he made a major impact for the Vikes' defense.

While Griffen only started one game in his first four seasons, he broke out with eight sacks in 2012 and then finished with 12 sacks in his first season as a starter in 2014.

From 2014-17, Griffen finished with double-digit sacks on three occasions, and he was named to the Pro Bowl in three straight campaigns from 2015-17.

Griffen's Pro Bowl streak ended in 2018 when he missed five games to address his mental health, but he returned to the Pro Bowl last season after racking up 41 tackles, eight sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 24 quarterback hits and one interception in 15 games.

In 10 seasons, Griffen started 88 of the 147 games he appeared in for the Vikings and compiled 355 tackles, 74.5 sacks and 86 tackles for loss.

Griffen also had 4.5 sacks in six playoff games, including 1.5 last season in postseason contests against the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers.

Griffen will depart the Vikings ranking fourth on the franchise's all-time sacks list behind only Hall of Famers John Randle and Chris Doleman, as well as Jared Allen.

Danielle Hunter will maintain his role as Minnesota's top pass-rusher with Griffen no longer in the fold, while Ifeadi Odenigbo is the top in-house candidate to replace Griffen after posting seven sacks last season.

The Vikings could also look to make a value signing in free agency or select a defensive end with one of their two first-round picks in the 2020 NFL draft at Nos. 22 and 25.