[ad_1]
Everson Griffen is officially making his return to the Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday to resume football activities ahead of the Week 8 game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday Night Football, the team announced on Tuesday evening. It will be the first time since leaving the team in Week 3 after a mental health episode that he will be with his teammates and potentially readying himself to play in a football game.
“We have been in communication with Everson’s medical professionals throughout this process and have relied on his recommendations regarding the appropriate next steps for Everson,” general manager Rick Spielman said in the team statement. “We are excited to welcome Everson back to the Vikings and to see him around teammates, coaches, and staff – people who care deeply about his well-being. Our focus will continue to be on providing an on-going support system for Everson and his family.”
Here is the full statement released by Griffen:
“Being around my teammates and coaches is something I have missed for several weeks. While this is an exciting and positive move forward for me, it is only the next step in a longer process. I look forward to once again putting in the work with the guys and contributing to this team in any way I can. My larger focus remains on addressing my personal health, and I’m hopeful the time will come when I feel comfortable sharing my story and using my platform to bring awareness to these issues. I continue to be extremely grateful for the constant support from my family, my teammates, the Vikings organization and our tremendous fans.”
(The Vikings are rolling and are back in the driver’s seat in the NFC North heading into a Sunday night game against the Saints —Don’t miss any of the action! Sign up for our FREE Vikings newsletter here!)
Griffen has been away from the team for the last five weeks stemming from incidents that involved alleged gun threats at the Hotel Ivy in Downtown Minneapolis and what the police report described as a break-in at the house of teammate Trae Waynes, though Waynes denies that this took place. Griffen was taken to the hospital via ambulance, but the police report states that they were called by paramedics and that Griffen had jumped out of the ambulance after it had stopped. He said he did this because he was afraid someone was going to shoot him. No criminal charges were filed and he spent most of last weekend undergoing a mental health evaluation.
The 30-year-old Griffen signed a four-year contract worth $58 million total last preseason and is under contract with the Vikings through the 2022 season. He is a three-time Pro Bowler and has gathered 61 sacks in his eight seasons in the league thus far. He was a fourth-round pick out of the University of Southern California in the 2010 NFL Draft and has spent his entire career to this point with the Vikings. He has six tackles recorded and one sack in two games played in the first few weeks of the 2018 campaign.
[ad_2]
Source link
