Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen still has four more years on his contract, but he may be gone from Minnesota soon.
Griffen has an $11.7 million cap hit this season, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune pegs Griffen as a possible cap casualty for the Vikings, who are among the NFL’s most cap-strapped teams.
It’s easy to see why the Vikings wouldn’t want to pay the 31-year-old Griffen that much, considering that they have a good young defensive end in Danielle Hunter, and another young defensive end who has shown promise in Stephen Weatherly.
Griffen’s salary becomes fully guaranteed if he’s still on the roster on March 15, so there will be some certainty about Griffen’s status reasonably soon. It won’t be surprising if Griffen ends up hitting free agency -- and struggling to find a team willing to pay him more than $11 million this year.