Everson Griffen gave Vikings fans a reason to breathe easier this week.
The former Minnesota edge rusher, one of the most electric pass rushers of his era in purple and gold, posted a long update on Instagram that pointed to a major personal turning point: he says he’s approaching a year of sobriety. For a player who brought so much energy and urgency to the field, the message was strikingly raw and honest.
“Life has given me every chance imaginable to keep my friends, protect my name, build a legacy my family could be proud of, and live an outstanding life. But I've been distant because I've been deep in the lonely work of owning that it's all been my fault.
The repeated mistakes, the burnt bridges, the pain I caused myself and others, the guilt and shame, and the hidden hurt I carried from childhood that showed up as a cry for help nobody fully saw.
I was blessed with success and opportunities most only dream of, survived amounts of drugs and partying that should have taken me out many times over, and I'm approaching a year of sobriety that is still brutally hard every single day, yet God's favor kept me here when I didn't deserve it.
I'm grateful, I'm humbled, I'm staying 100% real with Him and myself, and I'm finally ready to go deep into my full authentic story from the beginning.
The truth, the fear, the resilience, the grit, the new look at life, and the chances I still have, so I can grow every day and share the no-sugarcoating wisdom that might help somebody else understand their own pain and find strength to keep going.
I had CHANCES. I'm scared but there is never a right time. The time is now.
Buckle up shit is about to get 100% real!!!”
That update matters because Griffen’s football career ended not long ago. His final NFL season came in 2021, when he wrapped things up with Minnesota. He played in nine games that year and started six of them, finishing with 15 tackles, 26 pressures, five sacks and one forced fumble.
His last game in a Vikings uniform came against the Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium, and Minnesota won that one 34-31.
Griffen’s place in team history is secure, too. Minnesota picked him in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, and he spent 11 of his 12 NFL seasons with the Vikings. His 79.5 sacks for the franchise rank eighth all-time.
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