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The Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys both missed the playoffs last season despite entering the year with postseason hopes. While the Cowboys enter each year with playoff expectations, they haven’t met those goals since 2023. As for the Vikings, they hope last year was just a blip on the radar after winning 14 games the previous season.
What do these two teams have in common? One of their former Pro Bowl defenders is now eyeing a comeback, and he’s an extreme long shot for the NFL.
Related: Minnesota Vikings Rumors: Reporter Reveals J.J. McCarthy’s Potential Trade Value
Last year, NFL fans witnessed Philip Rivers come off the couch and start at quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts after missing four full seasons of football. Now, another aging veteran whom the NFL hasn’t heard from in four seasons is targeting his own comeback.
According to NFL insider Josina Anderson, former Vikings and Cowboys edge rusher Everson Griffen is ready to put his recently troubled past behind him and make a comeback bid.
Griffen has not played a snap since 2021, when he started six of his nine appearances with the Vikings. He’s now 38 years old.
Yet, he says he “hasn’t felt this way in a very long time,” saying he’s been sober for a full year. Overall, Griffen says he needs 2.5 to 3 months to get back to playing shape after previously battling depression.
It’s hard not to root for someone like Griffen who’s trying to do right by himself and stay on the right path.
Sitting at 85 career sacks, Griffen’s goal is to get to 100 sacks, and he thinks he could contribute “at least 9.5 sacks this year.”
“I never retired because I couldn’t play football. I retired because I couldn’t handle my s— outside of football.” Griffen revealed he first started using drugs in seventh grade and first smoked marijuana at age 10. Griffen says he played football while high “a lot.” He was not willing to reveal which “illicit drugs” he was taking.
4x-Pro Bowl DE Everson Griffen says he wants an NFL comeback:
“My desire is to play again…I know the things that I’ve done; I’ve burnt bridges, but I feel like that’s reparable..You don’t have to worry about me going back to using again..”
FULL YT VID: https://t.co/cuoebZs9DV pic.twitter.com/NtPFihXeMF
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) July 26, 2026
But now he’s put all that behind him and is focused on putting his best foot forward, which he hopes is on a football field again.
Related: 5 Bold NFL Predictions For 2026, One Involving the Vikings and Cowboys
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