Vikings Territory: Today Could Be Exclamation Point On Vikings 2021 Offseason

Press release from Vikings Territory:

Dustin Baker Dustin Baker

2021-08-18

First, it was Stephen Weatherly.

Weatherly disagreed. So did Mackensie Alexander, who also rejoined the team after spending a season with the Cincinnati Bengals. The narrative about Zimmer fostering a “toxic culture” might just be false or overblown.

When the Detroit Lions season finished in 2020 (Griffen’s previous employer), the 33-year-old promptly commenced a social media flirtation with returning to Minnesota in 2021. But that was marred by antics. Griffen has a documented history of whimsical, offensive tweets. Foremost, it seemed that he welcomed a Vikings reunion. Soon after, he tweeted-then-deleted that current Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins was “ass.” Not a good look. That anti-Cousins tweet is the thing that holds some Vikings fans back from embracing a Griffen reunion. Nobody wants schisms.

Griffen is still a free agent.

Hunter is returning from a 2020 campaign in which he played zilch due to a neck injury. The tentative plan at right defensive end is the utilization of Stephen Weatherly and D.J. Wonnum. Otherwise, Zimmer could explore playing time for these defensive ends, all of which are currently on the Vikings roster: Patrick Jones II, Jalyn Holmes, Janarious Robinson, and Kenny Willekes. Call it a full house. Too, as of late, Wonnum seems to be emerging as the frontrunner to start Week 1 at RDE against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Amid the last 30 years for the Vikings, Griffen ranks third in sacks behind John Randle and Jared Allen. Obtaining the USC alumnus should be an affordable endeavor, and Griffen would likely have to smooth out relations based on his bizarre tweets from earlier in the year. But that’s doable – Kirk Cousins is a reasonable human being, particularly if Griffen’s statement(s) were fueled by adverse mental health.

Plopping Griffen at RDE would be a return to normalcy and the last chapter of an eventful offseason. At every spot on the defense, a layer of confidence would exist. If the Griffen tryout does not come to fruition, Minnesota merely hopes the Wonnum-Weatherly-Jones trio will do the trick.

This press release was produced by Vikings Territory .The views expressed here are the author’s own.