The Vikings are reinforcing a problem position.
Vikings, veteran cornerback Shaquill Griffin agree to one-year deal
Shaquill Griffin has played for three teams in the last three seasons. In 2023, he was let go after two games by Houston and appeared in three games for Carolina.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 20, 2024 at 12:12PM
Cornerback Shaquill Griffin, who has 79 career NFL starts for four different teams, agreed to terms with the Vikings on a one-year deal worth up to $6 million, according to a league source. Griffin gives the Vikings another experienced cornerback to pair with Byron Murphy Jr., who was the position’s most stable player last season.
Griffin, who turns 29 in July, is a few seasons removed from his most productive years. He was a 2017 third-round pick out of Central Florida by the Seahawks, where he earned a big contract in free agency with Jacksonville. He was a four-year starter in Seattle while averaging 12 pass deflections per season and making the Pro Bowl in 2019.
But Griffin has played for three different teams in the three seasons since. In 2021 free agency, Griffin signed a three-year, $40 million deal with the Jaguars. He was released after 19 starts in two seasons, a run cut short by a back injury in 2022.
Last season, Griffin was phased out of the Texans’ defensive plans and released in November after two games as a special teamer. He was picked up by the Panthers and appeared in three games.
Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah talked about running out of defensive depth last season, with cornerback among those holes. Murphy’s knee injury early in the Week 15 loss in Cincinnati further exposed a young group that saw Akayleb Evans, Mekhi Blackmon and Andrew Booth Jr. experience growing pains.
Griffin, who has seven career NFL interceptions, has primarily been an outside cornerback, which is where the Vikings can use the most help.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
