Everson Griffen was involved in a car accident on his way into the practice facility on Thursday. Mike Zimmer said the DE swerved to miss a deer in the road. It’s why he showed up on the injury report with a concussion.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) September 17, 2021
Vikings DE Everson Griffen did not leave the Week 1 game, but he did show up on this week’s injury report with a concussion.
That concussion stemmed from a car accident he was involved in. Griffen tried to swerve his vehicle to miss a deer while driving to the Vikings practice facility, TCO Performance Center, Mike Zimmer told ESPN’s Courtney Cronin and others.
Griffen has been ruled out for the Vikings’ Week 2 game against the Cardinals. In addition to Griffen, Anthony Barr, Harrison Hand and Christian Darrisaw will also be out for the game and Eric Kendricks is questionable, due to injuries suffered in separate circumstances.
According to the Chicago Tribune, a Farmers Insurance study concluded that two thirds of all animal collisions involving vehicles happen in midwestern states.
“It’s human nature to try and avoid an accident,” Jim Taylor, head of claims customer experience for Farmers Insurance, told the Chicago Tribune in an interview. “It’s extremely difficult to avoid an accident by predicting what an animal will do. By braking suddenly or swerving, a driver can create a new hazard by hitting a tree, guard rail or another car.” So the best way to avoid a deer is to stay in the center line of the road.