Minnesota let many of its key veterans from past years walk this offseason, defensive end Everson Griffen included.
Griffen, who had previously played his entire NFL career with the Vikings until 2020, is now with the Cowboys.
It’s early, but Griffen is tied for the team lead in sacks with one, according to The Athletic’s Jon Machota. He is also first in quarterback pressures with five.
Despite the good basic stats, Pro Football Focus has not thought highly of Griffen’s play. He has earned an overall grade of just 46.4, a run defense grade of 50.1 and a pass defense grade of 59.2.
The Cowboys defense has not been great as a whole. Dallas gave up 20 points to the Rams in Week 1 and 39 to the Falcons in Week 2. For Dallas, an onside kick and a game-winning drive just barely eked out a 40-39 victory over a team that is, on paper, worse.
After the Week 2 win, Jeff Cavanaugh of 105.3 The FAN said on Twitter Tuesday that “Everson Griffen hasn’t been good for the Cowboys at all yet.” Griffen responded pretty strongly to that.