Everson Griffen’s attempt at an NFL comeback just got a lot more complicated.
The former Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl defensive end said earlier this summer that, at 38, he wanted to return to the league. That already felt like a long shot. After Wednesday morning, it looks even tougher to imagine.
According to jailroster.hennepin.us, Griffen was arrested by Minnesota State Patrol early Wednesday and booked into a Hennepin County jail for failing to comply and for violating a restraining order. He was released at 6:52 p.m. CST.
The arrest adds another layer to a stretch that has raised serious concern around Griffen for years. In July, he was arrested for operating a vehicle without an ignition-interlock device, which violated the probation he received after a DWI arrest in 2024.
Some of the reported details from Wednesday’s incident make the situation look even more troubling. WCCO’s Guy Still reported that a Minnesota State Trooper used a taser on Griffen after the former pass rusher was walking on Interstate Highway 394 near downtown Minneapolis early Wednesday morning and "refused to comply with commands to leave the road."
Griffen has now been arrested multiple times since 2023, including twice for DWI in a 12-month span. For a player whose final NFL season came in 2021, this is the latest difficult chapter in a turbulent run away from the field.
The concerns go well beyond football. Griffen dealt with mental health struggles during his playing days, even missing games because of them. In 2021, he said he is bipolar and explained that his problems escalated after his mother died in 2012.
More recently, Griffen said in early July that he was nearing a year of sobriety from drugs and alcohol. That made it seem like he might be moving toward a healthier path after the DWI arrests in 2023 and 2024.
Now, with two arrests since July, it’s fair to question whether he’s getting the help he needs to manage his bipolar disorder and addictions.
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