Green Bay Packers Have Expressed Interest in DE Everson Griffen
By Paul Bretl
It’s been recently reported that the Green Bay Packers have expressed interest in free agent DE, Everson Griffen.
Although training camps are set to begin soon, there are still a few well-known players on the open market. And one player, in particular, that Green Bay Packers’ fans know quite well is defensive end Everson Griffen, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings.
Still unsigned, it was recently reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network that the Packers are one of the teams who have shown interest in Griffen.
This is interesting: As long-time #Vikings DE and current free agent Everson Griffen narrows down his choices, the rival #Packers are among the teams to express interest. That interest is mutual. Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer had recently said he wants Griffen back, as well.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 27, 2020
Earlier this offseason, Griffen opted out of the final three years of his deal with Minnesota after posting eight sacks and 70 total pressures in 15 games. At soon to be 33-years-old, Griffen is no longer the player that he was back in 2017 when he posted 13 sacks, but that isn’t what the Green Bay Packers need him to be.
Right now, there are some serious questions surrounding the depth of the interior defensive line heading into the new season. So really what Green Bay needs is for Griffen to be better than Dean Lowry, Tyler Lancaster, Montravius Adams, and Treyvon Hester. Which he certainly should be.
Adding Griffen to the mix would help give this Packers’ run defense a much-needed boost after they were run off the field in the NFC Championship Game and gave up 120.1 rushing yards per game last season, which ranked 23rd in the NFL.
Of course, we always need to mindful of the salary cap, and we are all well aware at this point that the Packers don’t have a ton of cap space. However, given Griffen’s age, and the fact that camps are set to begin, Green Bay might be able to swing an affordable one-year deal to help give Kenny Clark some additional help.
With that said, considering that the Packers have five high-profile free agents of their own to address next offseason, rolling over as much cap space as possible to 2021 should be on GM Brian Gutekunst’s to-do list. So Griffen’s price tag is absolutely going to be a major factor in all of this.
dark. Next. More Pre-Training Camp Cuts to Come
As Rapoport points out, Griffen is also interested in coming to Green Bay, but Mike Zimmer would like him back in Minnesota as well. So for now, we will have to wait and see how things play out.