At the franchise deadline a few weeks ago, Stephen Jones mentioned that the Dallas Cowboys were still interested in adding a free agent or two this summer. Well, they’ve made good on that promise by signing former Minnesota Vikings Defensive End Everson Griffen.
As the NFL lifted the ban on outside players visiting their facilities, the Dallas Cowboys made a splash in bringing in the Pro Bowl defensive end. Griffen has made the Pro Bowl in four of the last five seasons. Though he’s 32 years old, he’s coming off a season where he had eight sacks for the Minnesota Vikings. In five of the last six seasons, he’s played at least 15 games and in those seasons recorded at least eight sacks. Three times he recorded a double-digit sack total with a career-high in 2017 when Griffen had 13 sacks.
| Game | Game | Def | Def | Def | Fumb | Fumb | Fumb | Fumb | Fumb | Tack | Tack | Tack | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | G | GS | Int | TD | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Yds | TD | Sk | Comb | TFL | QBHits |
| 2010 | 23 | MIN | 11 | 0 | 0.0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2011 | 24 | MIN | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 4.0 | 21 | 3 | 7 |
| 2012 | 25 | MIN | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 8.0 | 27 | 11 | 20 |
| 2013 | 26 | MIN | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 | 27 | 7 | 10 | |||
| 2014 | 27 | MIN | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 | 58 | 14 | 24 |
| 2015* | 28 | MIN | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.5 | 44 | 14 | 30 |
| 2016* | 29 | MIN | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 1 | 8.0 | 48 | 9 | 22 |
| 2017* | 30 | MIN | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 | 45 | 12 | 25 |
| 2018 | 31 | MIN | 11 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5.5 | 33 | 5 | 13 | |||||
| 2019* | 32 | MIN | 15 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8.0 | 41 | 11 | 24 | |||||
| Care | Care | 147 | 88 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 34 | 1 | 74.5 | 355 | 86 | 176 |
Primarily a right defensive end, Everson Griffen immediately becomes their best option opposite DeMarcus Lawrence. Though he figures to compete for snaps initially with Tyrone Crawford and Aldon Smith on the right side, his presence gives the Cowboys a much-needed pass rusher on the right side of the defensive line.
With the signing of Everson Griffen, the Cowboys made a bold move that upgrades their defense and gives them another player that can both play the run and rush the passer with equal effectiveness. In Mike Nolan’s defense that is predicated on disrupting the quarterback, you can’t have too many guys that can create pressure, and Everson Griffen has been one of the best over the last six seasons.
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