Vikings cornerback Cedric Griffin has expressed nothing but optimism about the pace of his recovery from a torn ACL suffered in the NFC Championship Game. But Griffin’s coaches aren’t as optimistic.
Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier says Griffin won’t be on the field for the Vikings’ Week One game against the New Orleans Saints.
“We’re going to be missing one guy in that first game -- Cedric Griffin won’t be participating,” Frazier said, per Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com. “He was a big part of our success a year ago.”
That contradicts what Griffin himself has said about his recovery: Griffin pronounced himself “ready to play football right now” over the weekend.
But while the Vikings still have more than a month to make a final determination about Griffin’s availability for the opener, Frazier’s assessment will probably turn out to be the correct one: Wes Welker’s extraordinarily fast recovery from a torn ACL notwithstanding, it’s extremely rare for a player to suffer such a serious knee injury and be back to speed in less than eight months. The Vikings would have to be thrilled to get Griffin back on the field any time in the first six weeks of the season.