There were a lot of eyebrows raised on March 9, 2014 when the Minnesota Vikings signed defensive end Everson Griffen to a 5-year, $42.5 million contract extension. $20 million of that was guaranteed. That's a lot of money for a player that had started a total of one game in his four year career. The Vikings also gave Griffen that contract at the expense of sack master Jared Allen. Griffen had only started that one game because Allen was always ahead of him on the depth chart and rarely came off of the field.
A lot of people thought that the Vikings were fools to let Allen walk to the Chicago Bears. Even more people thought that the Vikings were idiots for putting such tremendous faith in a player that had seen so little of the field in four years. Griffen left USC after his junior year. He was considered a first round football talent. Unfortunately he was more like an undrafted free agent when it came to maturity. It wasn't so much that he was a true troublemaker. He simply made some poor decisions. That lack of maturity dropped him to the Vikings in the fourth round. His rookie year of 2010 was pretty much a wash. He only had a few snaps in eleven games. He started to flash that first round talent his second year. He also took the steps to put his erratic ways behind him. He started to get more serious about his football craft. He played in all 16 games, collected four sacks, and showed his athleticism as the gunner in punt coverage. Watching a 275-pound defensive lineman flying down the field in a special teams role that is usually filled by a defensive back or receiver is a remarkable site. With a time of 4.46 at 40 yards he's as fast as those smaller speedsters. Griffen became further grounded and dedicated through some polar events in his personal life. His mother unexpectedly passed away on October 11, 2012. His son was born in April of 2013. And he married his longtime girlfriend last summer. Those events and an opportunity to finally start for the Vikings allowed Griffen to become the player that he had always possessed the talent to be. You see, the media talking-heads wrote off Everson Griffen as an impact football player because of his slight stats. Stats that weren't really so slight when his playing time was factored into the equation. Jared Allen was great and he rarely came off of the field. Griffen had to make every snap count and he often did. He made plays. People scoffed at the Vikings giving a supposedly unproven football player a big contract. All they had to do was take a look at the tape but they didn't. Simply staring at the stat sheet is easier. Lazy too. Even the most pessimistic of Vikings fans knew that Griffen was worthy of the contract that he signed. Everyone that had seen him play knew that keeping Griffen was an absolute must. There were questions as to whether he would fit into new head coach Mike Zimmer's defense. At 6'3" he wasn't as tall as the defensive ends that Zimmer seemed to like to employ. Zimmer can find a way to use a supremely talented football player and Griffen certainly is that. There was a stretch of games last October in which he couldn't be blocked. He was in the backfield as a matter of routine. He made plays in the run game from the trenches to the sideline. He was an unbelievable defensive force and took home the NFC Defensive Player of the Month award. For the season he had 12 sacks and was named the Vikings Defensive MVP. He earned that big check and the critics ate crow.
Everson Griffen has grown from a talented, immature player into a team leader and defensive force. He's only scratched the surface of the player that he can be. He's quick to laugh and dedicated to becoming great. He's become one of the best 4-3 defensive ends in the league. And that big contract may now be bargain.
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