Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen dealt with a shoulder injury down the stretch in 2015 and coach Mike Zimmer said after the team’s season came to an end that Griffen might have surgery to repair what he thought was a torn labrum.
As it turned out, Griffen didn’t have surgery after meeting with doctors including James Andrews and he says he didn’t have a torn labrum either. Griffen didn’t specify the exact nature of the injury, but said that the medical opinion was that he “had to rehab and rest it.”
Griffen’s done that since the end of the season and now feels back to full strength.
“My shoulder is back to 100 [percent],” Griffen said, via the Pioneer Press. “I’m good to go. I’m good to be able to go lift weights.”
Griffen, who missed one game last season, has 22.5 sacks over the last two years and will be a key part of a defense that did a lot of heavy lifting for Minnesota last season. Having him back in form should help them keep up that level of play as they try to defend their NFC North title.