Tag: Shaq Griffin

Two Vikings’ cornerbacks have been elite against the pass this season

Two new Vikings have played extremely well through five games in 2024 within Brian Flores’ scheme.

Minnesota made some splash signings this offseason to shore up the defense. The Vikings signed Blake Cashman, Jonathan Greenard, and Andrew Van Ginkel early before making the ultimate signing of Stephon Gilmore.

But one other signing that some fans weren’t super excited about was cornerback Shaq Griffin. Griffin has arguably been the Vikings’ best cornerback outside of Gilmore through five games.

According to Pro Football Network, the Vikings have two top cornerbacks against the pass. Griffin is the No. 3 corner in the NFL with the lowest passer rating allowed, with a 37.5 passer rating. Gilmore is 10th, with a 60.3 rating.

Through five games, Griffin has five pass deflections and an interception. Gilmore has three pass deflections plus an interception. Bryron Murphy Jr. leads all corners with 29 tackles, but his play has been up and down in 2024. Either way, the Minnesota secondary is head and shoulders better than what it was a season ago in the early going.

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell gives injury update on CB Shaq Griffin

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell provided the media with an injury update on cornerback Shaq Griffin after Thursday’s practice.

A day after receiving a slew of bad news on the injury front, the Minnesota Vikings followed it up with a day of much-needed good news. Yesterday, both Jordan Addison and Blake Cashman were injured in practices with the Cleveland Browns, and Minnesota learned that rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy was out for the season after knee surgery.

Thursday, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell was able to give the media and Vikings fans some good news, instead. Along with the news that Addison had avoided major injury and that Cashman would be back soon after getting surgery on his finger, O’Connell also provided an update on injured cornerback Shaq Griffin.

Griffin suffered a leg injury three weeks ago during practice and was later determined to have a “soft tissue” injury. That injury occurred just a day after fellow cornerback Mekhi Blackmon was lost for the season with a torn ACL, so getting good news on this front is desperately needed. Minnesota was already thin at the position. They could hardly stand to be without one of their starters to begin the season.

That won’t be the case, as O’Connell updated his injury status, saying Griffin will be ready for the start of the season.

Cornerback Shaq Griffin standing out for the Vikings’ defense

During minicamp, a report indicates Shaq Griffin really stood out on the Vikings’ defense.

Minnesota felt like it needed to beef up its secondary heading into the 2024 season. Not so much at safety. The Vikings have a trio of safeties that could compete with anyone, but they had plenty of ups and downs with their cornerback play in 2023.

Outside of Byron Murphy, there was too much inconsistency for the Vikings’ cornerbacks. Not only did Minnesota draft Oregon corner Khyree Jackson, but the Vikings also went out and signed 28-year-old free agent Shaq Griffin. Griffin, a former UCF Knight, had a solid start to his NFL career playing with the Seattle Seahawks for four seasons, but since then, Griffin has bounced around the league, playing for three different teams in four years.

Playing under a Brian Flores-led defense could get Griffin playing at a high level once again, and if you read into minicamp — maybe it will.

According to Alec Lewis with The Athletic, Griffin was one of the better players for the Vikings during minicamp. He stood out playing against guys like Justin Jefferson — who got into a jawing match with one another. Obviously, Griffin isn’t on the same level as Jefferson, but his energy and confidence are both high right now.

If Minnesota can get respectable play out of Griffin in 2024, it could make for big things from the Vikings’ secondary.

Former Seahawks LB Shaquem Griffin announces retirement from NFL

Griffin says he doesn’t want fans to feel sorry for him and thanked coach Pete Carroll for giving him a chance.

Former Seahawks linebacker Shaquem Griffin has announced his retirement from the NFL. Griffin broke the news himself in a column for the Player’s Tribune this morning. Griffin was picked by Seattle in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft, joining his brother Shaquill – a third-round selection from the previous year.

Griffin went on to play 46 games for the Seahawks before getting cut prior to the 2020 season. He worked his way back onto the practice squad but only appeared in one game that year. Last season, Griffin worked out for several teams around the league but in the end only wanted to play with his brother on the Jaguars.

“The Dolphins cut me before the 2021 season. I worked out for the Cardinals, the Titans and the Jets, and then I got calls from Buffalo, Dallas and Atlanta. But after that Jets workout, I realized something. All this traveling around, working out for teams, trying to catch on somewhere, trying to hang on — it wasn’t what I wanted. Football had already given me so much, and the only thing I still really wanted from the game was to play with my brother again. So I told my agent, Buddy Baker, thank you for grinding and bringing me these opportunities. But unless it’s Jacksonville, I’m good.”

Griffin says he doesn’t want fans to feel sorry for him and thanked coach Pete Carroll for giving him a chance with the Seahawks, as well as former teammates like Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright and his brother.

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Poll: Who will lead the Jags in interceptions this season?

The Jags made a lot of upgrades to their secondary and that could mean one of their new additions will lead the team in picks.

It goes without saying the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense will need to play better defensively in 2021. That will include garnering more interceptions (and turnovers in general) after only accumulating 12 last season.

Leading the way for the Jags surprisingly was linebacker Joe Schobert, who accumulated three picks in 2020. Behind him were cornerback Sidney Jones IV and safety Andrew Wingard with two picks individually while everyone else with interceptions had just one.

This year, however, the Jags are expected to take a step forward defensively, especially after adding what they did in the secondary this offseason. Those additions included a former Pro Bowler in Shaq Griffin and safety Rayshawn Jenkins. They also added help in the trenches with additions like Jihad Ward, Malcom Brown, and Roy Robertson-Harrison, who could help bolster the pass-rush and create opportunities for the back seven.

Lastly, the Jags added some help for the secondary early in the 2021 draft in cornerback Tyson Campbell and safety Andre Cisco. Of the two, Cisco appears to have the most potential as a ballhawk, exiting his career at Syracuse with an impressive 13 picks. Campbell, on the other hand, only had one pick in three seasons at Georgia.

When looking at the aforementioned names, the obvious choice to snag the most picks is Griffin, but if Cisco acquires a starting safety job, he’s proven he has the ball skills to be the guy despite being a rookie. However, for those who would prefer to play it safe, the former Pro Bowler, Griffin, may be the right choice.

As for a dark horse candidate, fans should watch out for C.J. Henderson, the Jags’ former first-round pick from last season. He’s still recovering from labrum surgery and was sidelined during the spring, but could be good to go during training camp. If so, the former Gator could return to his starting role as an improved player after flashing at times in 2020.

Now, we’d like to hear from you all at home on the matter. Who will be the Jags’ leader in picks this upcoming season? Let us know in the poll below.

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Jaguars remain 32nd in NFL.com power rankings after free agent signings

The Jags got better in free agency last week but they still have to prove they don’t belong at the bottom based on NFL.com’s power rankings.

Like most teams, the Jacksonville Jaguars made new upgrades to their roster last week during the opening moments of free agency and were able to acquire various new starters. However, despite those upgrades, several people aren’t high on the roster at the moment.

Among them is NFL Network’s Dan Hanzus, who recently released his post-free agency power rankings. In them, he had the Jags remaining where they were in his power rankings from February, which was at the very bottom of the NFL at spot No. 32.

32. Jacksonville Jaguars

Urban Meyer went public with his criticisms of the NFL’s free agency process, but that didn’t preclude the Jaguars from being more active than just about anyone in the first week of the league year. Cornerback Shaquill Griffin and wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr.were the highest-profile additions as the team closes in on draft day and the presumed arrival of Trevor Lawrence as the new face of the franchise. Meyer is rebuilding Jacksonville from the ground up.

The Jaguars free agency class certainly could’ve been better as they led the league in cap space, but were unable to acquire names like Jonnu Smith, Hunter Henry, and John Johnson. While there could be an argument made that a healthier Jags team in 2020 would’ve been better than the New York Jets, their general manager Joe Douglas surpassed the Jags with the solid free agency period they had last week. The signing of Carl Lawson gave them a pass rusher who the Jags needed, and they were also able to add former Jags rival Corey Davis and former Jags receiver Keelan Cole.

While the Jags missed out on several names who would’ve been huge additions, they were able to acquire some players who will be significant contributors or could be great starters. Those players were additions like Marvin Jones Jr., Rashawn Jenkins, Roy Robertson-Harris, Tyson Alualu, and Shaq Griffin. They also re-signed players who could contribute like cornerbacks Sidney Jones IV and Tre Herndon, and defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot.

When considering the impact all of the aforementioned names could make, in addition to Trevor Lawrence, the Jags look ready to take another step forward. The bigger question is how big of a step will it be?