Cory's Corner: Go Get Everson Griffen
Everson Griffen would be an excellent addition to an already solid stable of pass rushers.
You can never have too many pass rushers.
Especially in a passing league.
Everson Griffen is a free agent for the first time in his career and according to the NFL Network's Ian Rappoport, the Packers have expressed interest.
Griffen tallied 66 pressures last year, which ranked 14th among all defensve ends according to Pro Football Focus.
The reason it's a tough decision is because Griffen is 32 and he turns 33 in December. But he has played 41 of the last 48 regular season games and his work ethic has been noted by his teammates through the years.
The Packers take on Kirk Cousins twice, Matthew Stafford twice, Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Tom Brady, Deshaun Watson, Jimmy Garoppolo and Carson Wentz next year. The best way to take pressure off the secondary is by making the quarterback as uncomfortable as possible. Make him throw on the run, rush his throws and make him rubberneck at the line of scrimmage in order to guess where the pressure will come from.
Another reason to get Griffen is because we really don't know who Rashan Gary is. Last year's No. 12 pick only had three quarterback hits and the outside linebacker played less than 25 percent of the defensive snaps. Gary was brought aboard because of his amazing physical attributes. He did have an impressive 40-yard dash, vertical jump and broad jump at the NFL Scouting Combine. However, like I always say, it doesn't matter what you do in compression shorts if you cannot play football. And he really hasn't showed much.
Finally, the best reason to get Griffen is to simply play keep away from your top division rival. The Vikings have assembled a very good roster in the last few years and will be the Packers' top competition for another NFC North crown. Signing Griffen wouldn't just add another pass rusher, it would also take one away from Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer. And that would cause plenty of headaches in Minneapolis, because they have been among the worst in the league in pass blocking.
Griffen has been a team captain since 2018, so the Packers would be getting a great locker room guy and more importantly, they would be getting a guy that would be desperate to win.
The Packers showed plenty of problems with stopping the run last year, but adding Griffen should be enough to give Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine enough firepower to compete in a more dynamic NFC.
Pass Rush of the Day: Speed Chop Counter Spin Icepick by @EversonGriffen #DLIsBringingTheEnergy pic.twitter.com/Jqzlz5jfz8
— Willie Cashmore (@WillieCashmore) July 22, 2020
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Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on "Clubhouse Live" and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn
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Comments (40)
stockholder
July 28, 2020 at 06:59 am
The Vikings didn't win with him. He doesn't Think. He has demons. WE had are choice of any FA out there, and now were Turning to a viking? I don't see this guy fixing anything on the DL. I'm now against it. The guy is a cancer. Bahk can handle this guy anytime. The money needs to go to someone else.
dobber
July 28, 2020 at 11:06 am
"Bahk can handle this guy anytime."
That's the definition of an elite LT.
x24
July 28, 2020 at 11:53 am
Agreed- let's not spend money we don't have, on a piece we don't need
Guam
July 28, 2020 at 07:33 am
Signing Griffin would delay the development of Gary and will not improve our run defense. I would rather see any free agent signing be directed at IDL than another pass rusher.
gkarl
July 28, 2020 at 07:33 am
Cory gotta like your optimism but every time there's a FA it seems like you write an article suggesting the GBP go get them. While its fun to talk about its not very realistic. The SC numbers suggest that we will have a extremely hard time keeping our own talented FA. Why waste those resources on Griffen, he's not the GUY that gets us to the SB. Given the uncertainty with the season making moves like this are way more Risk than Reward, let some other team do it not the GBP.
Bure9620
July 28, 2020 at 08:16 am
I would likely be a one year deal.......
Stroh
July 28, 2020 at 10:44 am
Doesn't matter. One of Bahktiari or Clark has to be re-signed during this season. Signing Griffen more than likely makes that all but impossible! Like to have Griffen and take him from Minn, but I don't see how its reasonable to do it and still be able to keep both Bahktiari and Clark and keep Gary progressing in his development. Just not possible IMO.
scullyitsme
July 28, 2020 at 12:05 pm
Ah, griffin would probably be a one year contract, since bakt and Clark are already signed for this year, that is silly, doubt it would have much to do with either signing a new contract, good players are always welcome in Green Bay in my view.
Stroh
July 28, 2020 at 11:05 pm
You clearly don't understand how contract extensions work.
murf7777
July 28, 2020 at 08:12 am
They have the Smith’s and Gary who play similar roles so use the SC resources elsewhere.
ricky
July 28, 2020 at 08:17 am
Does he tilt the scales of the cost/benefit enough to sign him? As noted earlier, the Packers drafted Gary because he has elite athleticism; let's see if that turns into production. Also, Alonso is supposedly the guy who will take that proverbial "next step". Especially with the salary cap shrinking a lot next year, and with all the guys the Packers are going to want to keep, this doesn't seem like a wise use of limited resources.
Bure9620
July 28, 2020 at 08:26 am
My initial feelings are this is his agent hoping to force a deal with the Vikings. However, it is not as though the Vikings cap situation is fluid, hence the 13 draft picks. I would be open to an incentive laden 1 year deal or a 2 year deal with an out for Griffen. I gotta believe it will take atleast 5-6 mil per year. Depending how long on the market. He is still a disruptive player and frankly he could play in any scheme.
Stroh
July 28, 2020 at 10:47 am
I would think its the Packers driving up the price for Minn to sign Griffen, not as much Griffen's agent trying to leverage the situation.
mnbadger
July 28, 2020 at 08:33 am
If it weren't for the SC issues, I'd love it. It wasn't his fault that the queens couldn't win, see Reggie White as an eagle. He was loved by his teammates. Plus he seemed to play the run well vs GB, I didn't see any other queens games. Another defensive playmaker, he'd be better than all of our DT's not named Clark. You'd have to trade Lowery to make cap space, go for it. GPG
Lphill
July 28, 2020 at 08:59 am
I rather have Clay back he would help at inside and outside. Linebacker.
TheVOR
July 28, 2020 at 09:12 am
Clay at ILB, been saying that all off-season.
Stroh
July 28, 2020 at 10:49 am
Matthews doesn't want to play any ILB. He only wants to rush the QB. If he were more open to moving inside, he might not have left GB in the first place.
13TimeChamps
July 28, 2020 at 03:06 pm
Matthews willingly moved to ILB several years ago when asked and did a nice job. And if memory serves, he didn't 'leave' GB...he wasn't offered a contract.
Stroh
July 28, 2020 at 11:07 pm
He was still under contract at that time. He made it clear when he left GB that playing ILB wasn't an option.
TarynsEyes
July 28, 2020 at 09:12 am
I swear, if the guy selling the 'cure-all' medicine from Josey Wales showed up here at CHTV writers lunch, if there was such, these writers would have a hard time not buying every bottle he had to sell.
flackcatcher
July 28, 2020 at 10:27 am
heh heh heh heh....
Stroh
July 28, 2020 at 10:52 am
Good Josey Wales reference. Corey seems to be especially susceptible to buying the "Cure All" at every opportunity. Like he has to fix something that isn't broken.
DrMixerGED
July 29, 2020 at 06:19 am
I just had to reply and upvote for the Josey Wales reference! Great movie.
Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining!
PeteK
July 29, 2020 at 07:39 am
Snake oil
4thand1
August 01, 2020 at 02:06 pm
how is it on stains?
Spock
July 28, 2020 at 09:58 am
Cory,
What happened to your "Beware of Shiny Objects" view in a previous column, lol.
marpag1
July 28, 2020 at 10:49 am
That "shiny objects" point of view swirled down the toilet almost immediately, when the same author wrote a second article which said that the Packers needed to trade for David Njoku right away. Comically, that second article began with the words, "I am the guy that usually steers clear of shiny objects."
LOL.
Your error, Spock, is that your Vulcan mind assumes that everything needs to make sense. You don't realize that this little "corner" of the universe is a parallel dimension where reason and logic are unknown.
Stroh
July 28, 2020 at 10:53 am
Always has been... Always will be!
TarynsEyes
July 28, 2020 at 11:33 am
I think it unwise to consider any player at the age of 32+ as a 'Shiny New Object' and that is the problem for many.
flackcatcher
July 28, 2020 at 10:34 am
Seriously, this feels more like an agents play than anything else. As Bure posted above that would be reasonable if the Packers had Cap space. They don't, and in what might be a short (odds will be) season the time to integrate Griffen into Pettine's system is simply not there. On the other hand, any chance to screw with the Vikings....
dobber
July 28, 2020 at 10:44 am
I also agree that this feels like an agent blowing a text or email up, but it's up to management to decide what they think will put the best product on the field. Given that Z, Gary, and Griffen can all play with their hands on the ground, there's plenty of ways to get them snaps at the expense of Tyler Lancaster and Dean Lowry. With the potential for a salary cap bomb looming on the horizon, the virus may be closing this team's current window faster than anticipated. You'll notice no story until after the league and NFLPA came to an agreement. If this is the case, why not shoot for the stars?
.
CheesyTex
July 28, 2020 at 03:00 pm
"...why not shoot for the stars?" is right on. With all the uncertainty caused by CoVid 19, Salary Cap management is going to be even messier than usual for the foreseeable future. So why not just swap a less talented player for Griffen? Even if the whole season is cancelled, it leaves the roster in a stronger place going forward.
I guess this just reiterates dobber's points, but IMO they are good points.
Packer_Fan
July 28, 2020 at 11:37 am
I am slowly losing interest in the NFL this season.
Roadrunner23
July 28, 2020 at 11:38 am
Make an offer, drive his price up so the Vikes have to pay up :)
scullyitsme
July 28, 2020 at 12:09 pm
He’s a good player, so I say he’s welcome. He’s probably comes on a 1 year contract, so it wouldn’t have much to do with signing others. Don’t understand that hate, but haters gonna hate. I know the 49ers had 4 guys up front that could rush the passer last year and they kicked our butt, on both sides of the ball, not just running it.
Duneslick
July 28, 2020 at 12:39 pm
Do you understand the salary cap at all. GB has no money for clark bak king jones and lindsley but you want them to sign griffith. Whit what
Alberta_Packer
July 28, 2020 at 12:55 pm
Griffin makes sense mathematically; Griffin - Lowry = +
PatrickGB
July 28, 2020 at 01:07 pm
I suspect that IF we sign him it would probably mean that someone else gets cut.
NitschkeFan
July 28, 2020 at 02:13 pm
I'd rather spend the cap space on "Snacks" Harrison. 350 lbs of interior lineman. I'm not against getting more pass rush but there are only so many dollars to spend.
Thegreatreynoldo
July 29, 2020 at 02:27 am
In the unlikely event that Gute does decide to sign Griffen, it has to be all base salary and not executed until after the opt-out period ends. No signing bonus for sure: players keep that money and it counts against the cap even if the season is canceled or shortened.
For example, Eddie Goldman just opted out, and he will take a financial hit since he won't get his $4.75M base salary. But Goldman does keep the $3M roster bonus he received in March, and that still counts against the Bear's cap for 2020.