{"id":387881,"date":"2026-07-27T16:54:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T16:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/387881\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T16:54:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T16:54:11","slug":"former-dallas-cowboys-edge-lobbies-for-nfl-comeback-with-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/387881\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Dallas Cowboys EDGE Lobbies for NFL Comeback With Team"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"72\">Former Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Everson Griffen hasn&#8217;t played a snap in the NFL since 2021, but he still has a desire to make a comeback. Talent was never the issue with Griffen, who is now 38 years old. Instead, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/news\/free-agent-everson-griffen-says-2018-incident-changed-his-life-0ap3000001109048\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">battles with substance, mental health, and legal issues<\/a> over the years derailed his career.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"75\">But Griffen believes he&#8217;s a changed man now after being sober for one year and he told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=33St5kOywog\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Josina Anderson on &#8220;The Exhibit&#8221;<\/a> podcast that he wants another shot in the league.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"78\">\u201cMy desire is to play again,&#8221; Griffen said. &#8220;I know the things that I\u2019ve done; I\u2019ve burnt bridges, but I feel like that\u2019s reparable&#8230; You don\u2019t have to worry about me going back to using again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7b\">Griffen specifically <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JosinaAnderson\/status\/2081510909164282220\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">lobbied Cowboys owner Jerry Jones<\/a> to bring him back.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7e\">&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JosinaAnderson\/status\/2081510909164282220\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">This is the best version of myself you&#8217;re gonna get<\/a>, 38, that&#8217;s all,&#8221; Griffen said of his message to Jones. &#8220;I know what I can do. You put me through a workout, I can show you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">4x-Pro Bowl DE Everson Griffen says he wants an NFL comeback:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy desire is to play again&#8230;I know the things that I\u2019ve done; I\u2019ve burnt bridges, but I feel like that\u2019s reparable..You don\u2019t have to worry about me going back to using again..\u201d<\/p>\n<p>FULL YT VID: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cuoebZs9DV\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/t.co\/cuoebZs9DV<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NtPFihXeMF\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/NtPFihXeMF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JosinaAnderson\/status\/2081500484464959808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">July 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7k\">Griffen added that he needs &#8220;two-and-a-half months&#8221; to get back into shape and is willing to take a drug test to prove his sobriety.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7n\">Griffen played in seven games for the Cowboys during the 2020 season after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/cowboys\/onsi\/news\/former-dallas-cowboys-news-everson-griffen-i-fed-up\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">signing with the team in free agency<\/a> and tallied 2.5 sacks in that span. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7q\">Dallas ended up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/cowboys\/onsi\/news\/breaking-dallas-cowboys-trades-begin-with-de-everson-griffen-to-lions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">trading Griffen to the Detroit Lions<\/a> in October of that year for a sixth-round pick that turned into Quinton Bohanna.<\/p>\n<p>Will Everson Griffen get another chance?<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kyj11r3ezxd2831mqp.jpg\" alt=\"Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen (97) celebrates his sack against the Seattle Seahawks.\" title=\"Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen (97) celebrates his sack against the Seattle Seahawks.\" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"83\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen. | USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"87\">It&#8217;s hard to imagine Griffen getting another opportunity in the NFL.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8a\">For starters, he has been out of the NFL so long that he&#8217;s almost eligible for the Hall of Fame. Griffen&#8217;s last snap came in 2021 with the Minnesota Vikings and that long of a gap in and of itself will make it extremely difficult for him to come back.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8d\">Then, there&#8217;s Griffen&#8217;s most recent run-ins with the law, which will obviously give teams further pause considering his lengthy history of legal issues. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8g\">On July 23, the former edge rusher was <a href=\"https:\/\/kstp.com\/kstp-news\/local-news\/former-minnesota-viking-everson-griffen-charged-for-not-using-an-ignition-interlock\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">pulled over for speeding and was arrested<\/a> after it was discovered he was driving without the ignition-interlock device that he is required to have in his vehicle as part of his restricted license.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8j\">The arrest came while Griffen is on a four-year probation term stemming from a 2023 arrest in which he was accused of driving while intoxicated. Griffen later <a href=\"https:\/\/kstp.com\/kstp-news\/local-news\/former-viking-everson-griffen-gets-probation-for-careless-driving-dwi-charges-dismissed\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">plead guilty to reckless driving<\/a>, which dismissed the DWI charge. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8m\">He was also cited for reckless driving last November after he was pulled over for going 130 mph in a 60 mph zone, and in July 2025 he was <a href=\"https:\/\/kstp.com\/uncategorized\/former-viking-everson-griffen-arrested-accused-of-violating-probation\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">arrested on a probation violation<\/a> after he &#8220;failed to abstain from alcohol or drugs, and failed to comply with random drug testing,&#8221; per Community Corrections and Rehabilitation.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\">Follow<\/a><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Everson Griffen hasn&#8217;t played a snap in the NFL since 2021, but he&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387882,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103],"class_list":["post-387881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}