Ex-Viking Everson Griffen gets 60-day sentence, probation for driving drunk in Minneapolis

Former Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen was given a 60-day workhouse sentence — which can be served on electronic home monitoring — and put on probation for four years for driving drunk on Interstate 35W in Minneapolis in May.

Griffen, 36, of Mound, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court to third-degree DWI, a gross misdemeanor, after reaching a plea deal with the prosecution that includes dismissing a second third-degree DWI charge and one count each of gross misdemeanor fifth-degree drug possession and misdemeanor careless driving.

Everson Griffen (Courtesy of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office)

Judge Gina Brandt followed the plea deal and stayed a 364-day sentence in the Hennepin County Adult Corrections Facility, also known as the workhouse, for four years. Terms of probation include no alcohol or drug use and random testing.

According to the criminal complaint, Griffen was pulled over by a Minnesota State Patrol trooper at 11:35 p.m. May 28 for driving his Bentley Bentayga at 82 mph on southbound I-35W near Lake Street. A passenger was in the front seat. Griffen said he had one drink and they were headed to Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake.

Griffen, who had watery eyes and smelled of alcohol, failed sobriety tests, and a small vial with cocaine was found in his back pocket. A preliminary breath test showed Griffen’s blood-alcohol concentration was 0.10. A breath test taken just before 12:30 a.m. also registered a 0.10 BAC. The legal limit in Minnesota is 0.08.

The charges were the latest in a string of legal trouble for Griffen. In February, he was put on probation for one year for a reckless driving conviction that stemmed from a DWI arrest in Chanhassen in July 2023.

About three months later, Griffen crashed his 2017 Mercedes-Benz into a car, then a fence and gazebo in Mound. He was convicted of failure to drive with due care, a petty misdemeanor.

Griffen was cited for speeding Dec. 7 after a Shakopee police officer caught him on radar driving his 2020 Bentley truck at 55 mph in a 30 mph zone.

The former All-Pro has struggled with mental health issues over the years.

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While he was with the Vikings, Griffen was placed on the non-football illness list following an incident at his Minnetrista home on Nov. 24, 2021, in which he posted a since-deleted disturbing video on Instagram that showed him holding a handgun and expressing concern for his safety.

He called 911 to report an intruder, but none was found. Police and mental health officials worked for several hours to get Griffen to come out of his home before he was taken by ambulance to a mental health facility.

Griffen also missed five games in 2018 because of a mental health situation. He wrote in an Instagram post Dec. 3 that he is “bipolar” and will “be an advocate for mental health.”

Griffen played with Minnesota from 2010-19, making four Pro Bowls, and rejoined the team in 2021 after spending the 2020 season with Dallas and Detroit.

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