Minnesota Vikings: NFL investigating Everson Griffen’s late scratch
The National Football League is about to go all Pink Panther on the Minnesota Vikings. The NFL, taking a page out of the NCAA rulebook, is investigating the purple for the late scratch of Everson Griffen before Sunday’s game against Kansas City.
Pro Football Talk is reporting that the investigation is going on. When a player isn’t on an injury report, it raises red flags apparently to the league. The team with the recently injured or ill player, this case the Vikings, are supposed to notify the local media, the opposing team and the NFL if any injury or illness occurs after 3:00 central on the Friday before. The Vikings didn’t do that.
The Vikings didn’t tell anybody, but in the Vikings defense, Griffen apparently wasn’t sick until Sunday morning and he was listed on the inactives for the day’s game.
This isn’t the first time this season that this has gone down in the NFL. Two weeks ago, the Cleveland Browns, some good company for the Vikings, were also investigated when Joe Haden was a surprise scratch.
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In trying to make sense of the rule, not a whole lot is coming up. Maybe the NFL doesn’t want to tick off the gambling community that makes the sports world spin round and round, but other than that, the late scratch doesn’t affect anyone badly other than the Vikings themselves.
The Vikings are a better team with Everson Griffen than without, it’s not even a question. Plus, the Vikings maybe would have adjusted some things on the defensive side of the ball if they know before just hours before the game that one of their best players was going to be out.
According to 1500ESPN, Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer didn’t even know about the apparent investigation during his press conference on Monday afternoon.
So far the league hasn’t handed down any punishment to the Browns for their incident, I doubt the Vikings will be slapped with anything either.
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