Griffen takes full responsibility for September incident, thanks Vikings for support

Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen completed his first practice after he was cleared to resume team activities following his leave of absence.

Griffen spoke publicly Wednesday for the first time since his September incidents involving police and medical personnel, and address his return.

"First off, I want to take full responsibility for my actions that went on in September," Griffen said, via ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "I had a lot of support from my family, the Minnesota Vikings, the doctors, my teammates, the fans and, you know, I want to give my apologies to people I impacted. I'm sorry if I affected them in any type of way. I'm just excited to get back here with my team and get back to the grind of things.

"It's been hard to be away, but I'm happy to be back. It's a good feeling right now, and I'm taking one day at a time and one thing at a time to get things back on track."

The veteran defender underwent an evaluation and received treatment at a mental health facility over the last month, and helped him realize his issues were more important than playing football.

"It was awesome, man," Griffen said. "Just getting back to life in general; driving my car, doing all the little things. You've got to appreciate the little things in life. I appreciate the little things in life. I'm not taking any day. Every day is a blessing. You got to be grateful. I'm just excited to be back here."

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer is pleased with Griffen's person progress since leaving the team.

"Everybody in life has probably had to deal with these different types of issues that go on and not necessarily (physical injuries)," Zimmer said. "I know people that I've dealt with in the past, I know people, doctors, all the experts help with these situations. I don't think this is as unique as we're making it out to be. This is an illness, and he's done a good job of helping to get better and continues to try to get better, and he is probably going to have to continue to do that just like we all have to do in life."

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