The last time the Vikings and New Orleans Saints played, it was memorable, with Stefon Diggs turning an improbable catch-and-run into a playoff-winning touchdown that instantly became known as the Minnesota Miracle. These teams met again Sunday night and it was memorable for so much more than the winning or losing of an NFL game. Never mind the final score, many will remember it as the night Everson Griffen put on a uniform again and played in a game. The first member of the Vikings to charge out of the tunnel minutes before the game began, Griffen had one tackle and no sacks, though he did put some pressure on quarterback Drew Brees in the Saints’ 30-20 victory over the Vikings. How Griffen played wasn’t as important as the simple fact that he played. “It felt amazing being back out there,” Griffen said. He helps make the Vikings a better team, sure, but there is so much more going on here. Griffen returned to the Vikings last week after being gone a month. It wasn’t due to an injury. It was far more serious than that. The day before the Vikings were routed by the Buffalo Bills, Griffen was hospitalized with mental health issues after incidents of alarming and scary behavior. The Vikings were 17-point favorites to beat the Bills but played like a team whose collective head wasn’t in it. What happened to Griffen a day earlier would help explain the going-through-the-motions mode the Vikings were in. Griffen was their captain, their teammate, their friend, and when somebody close to you is hospitalized, particularly over mental health, how could it not affect you? After he left the team, nobody knew how long Griffen would be gone and there was speculation in the media and elsewhere that it could be for the entire season or maybe even end the career of one of the best defensive ends in the game. There has been optimism, albeit cautious, since it was announced he would return to the Vikings. “Obviously we want him back as a football player but as a person, that’s my buddy, so I want him to do great off the field as well, and that’s what he’s doing,” safety Harrison Smith said. “I’m happy to have him back, just around us.” Griffen acknowledged in a statement last week that rejoining the team was “only the next step in a longer process.” It is a process that could be lifelong. But now, in this moment, he has had a return to some sort of normalcy and the life he once knew and embraced. “I did have emotions,” Griffen said, referring to hearing fans cheer him. “It shows that people care. I really appreciate that. There’s a lot of love out there for me. My goal is to get back, knock the rust off and get back to the grind.” He is an inspiration to people dealing with mental health issues of their own. As many as 1 in 5 Americans experience mental illness in a given year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which also reports 1 in 25 Americans “experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.” That is where Griffen has been. In his statement, he said, “I’m hopeful the time will come when I feel comfortable sharing my story and using my platform to bring awareness to these issues.” Related Articles Vikings’ Dalvin Cook prepares for 17-game grind with offseason body of work DE Danielle Hunter among five Vikings absent Wednesday from OTAs Anthony Barr took pay cut so 2020 injury wouldn’t be his ‘last memory’ with Vikings Vikings linebackers Anthony Barr, Cameron Smith finally back on the field for OTAs Vikings claim center Cohl Cabral off waivers from Texans He does have a platform, an enormous one. The global popularity of the NFL has meant Griffen’s illness and recovery effort has played out on an international stage and he could help eradicate the stigma that sometimes accompanies mental illness. There should not be a feeling of embarrassment or shame for anyone dealing with a mental health issue, but you know, we all know, that happens. Griffen could have a role in bringing some people out of the shadows of shame by helping them realize they are dealing with an illness, and that they can be helped to, if not overcome it, learn better how to deal with it. First, though, Griffen has to deal with his own issue, and Sunday night was part of the start of that. “It’s just getting back into my routine each and every day,” he said. “That creates great habits.”<doc-sep>A little more than a month after he was the subject of a Minneapolis police investigation, Everson Griffen is set to return to the field for the Minnesota Vikings' anticipated "Sunday Night Football" game against the New Orleans Saints. The three-time Pro Bowl pass rusher has not played since Week 2. After initially being deactivated for the Vikings' Week 3 loss to the Buffalo Bills with what the team deemed a knee injury, Griffen was excused for a five-week absence from the team while dealing with a "personal matter" -- mental health concerns that were on display in a Star Tribune report centered on his apparent paranoia and aggression at both Vikings practice and at home. As NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Friday, however, Griffen is expected to play on Sunday night. Vikings coach Mike Zimmer would not confirm whether Griffen would be active for the game, but the defensive end told reporters he's "able to play football" this weekend, and the team announced Griffen's return to the facility earlier in the week. "I'm just excited to get back here with my team and get back to the grind," Griffen told the media this week. "It's been hard to be away, but I'm happy to be back. It's a good feeling right now and I'm taking one day at a time and one thing at a time to get things back on track." Griffen has been a full-time starter at defensive end since 2014, posting three double-digit sack seasons, but it remains to be seen whether he'll return to the lineup immediately. Most importantly, he appears to be in a good condition off the field. As NFL Network noted, the Vikings required Griffen to undergo a mental-health evaluation before returning to the team at the start of his absence. The ninth-year veteran acknowledged his "personal issues" at the time and promised to "return as a much-improved person and player."<doc-sep>EAGAN, Minn. -- Everson Griffen is expected to be active and play on Sunday after being away from the Minnesota Vikings for the last five weeks. According to the Vikings' team website, Griffen is slated to return to the lineup against the New Orleans Saints after practicing in full from Wednesday to Friday. The Pro Bowl defensive end last appeared in Minnesota's Week 2 tie in Green Bay. Griffen was ruled out of the Buffalo game with a knee injury and then was placed under a health and welfare hold at a Minneapolis-area hospital on Sept. 22 after his alleged involvement in two separate incidents drew police involvement and concern over his mental health. Griffen returned to team activities Wednesday and addressed the personal matters he's working through. "This is bigger than football, this is part of the process," Griffen said. "We got a team, we got a good group of individuals, the Minnesota Vikings, the doctors, myself, my family, and we got a plan in place and we're going to execute that plan day-in and day-out, and we're going to stay on top of it. That's our goal. This is bigger than football, and it's part of the plan. I'm excited to be back." It remains to be seen what type of role Griffen will play on Sunday, but the Vikings defense benefits from him being on the field. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Minnesota has been able to pressure opposing quarterbacks 35 percent of the time with Griffen on the field as opposed to 28 percent without him. Opposing team's yards per play shrinks from 6.0 to 4.7, while total QBR drops from 53 to 30 with Griffen in the game. While Griffen is set to return, the Vikings will continue to be without several starters on offense and defense. Dalvin Cook (hamstring), Anthony Barr (hamstring), Tom Compton (knee) and Andrew Sendejo (groin) are ruled out for Sunday, while Riley Reiff (foot) is doubtful. Linval Joseph (ankle/knee) and Xavier Rhodes (ankle) are listed as questionable.<doc-sep>
Everson Griffen made his return to the Minnesota Vikings this week after spending the last month or so away from the team while tending to a mental health situation. The veteran defensive end practiced all three days this week and did not appear on the injury report, signaling that nothing is holding him back from being on the field on Sunday night against the New Orleans Saints. Whether he starts or not or if he remains on a snap count remains to be seen. "I'm just excited to get back here with my team and get back to the grind," Griffen said upon his return earlier this week. "It's been hard to be away, but I'm happy to be back. It's a good feeling right now and I'm taking one day at a time and one thing at a time to get things back on track." Griffen released the below statement after the team announced that he would be back this week: "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 had 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 time undergoing a mental health evaluation. Stephen Weatherly has started the last five games in his place. 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.