Former MN Vikings Pro Bowler Kicked Off Delta Flight After Emergency Landing

This time of year can be difficult for NFL players. After minicamp, teams get about a month off between mid-June and mid-July, before they reconvene for the start of training camp.

And every summer, without fail, there are news stories circulating on NFL players that range anywhere from weird, to unfortunate, to downright tragic. One year ago, the Minnesota Vikings saw the worst of what this month-long break can bring.

Around the 4th of July, 2024, newly drafted cornerback Khyree Jackson died in an early-morning car accident near his hometown in Maryland. Days later, Jordan Addison was arrested on suspicion of DUI near LAX Airport, after he was found asleep at the wheel of his very expensive car.

Former Minnesota Vikings cannot stay out of trouble

The NFL’s 2025 break is nearly over. Teams will start to gather for training camp this weekend, and so far (knock on wood) the Minnesota Vikings have gone incident free. The same cannot be said for former players, however.

In late June, reports surfaced of a recent Adrian Peterson poker room brawl, which he has now spun into a future paid boxing match. Then, earlier this week, former Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater was suspended by the Miami high school team he coaches, for handing out illegal benefits to his players.

Another former member of the purple and gold who may never grow out of the NFL’s summer news cycle, is longtime defensive lineman, Everson Griffen, who played 12 seasons in the league, 11 of which were spent in Minnesota.

Both during and after his football career, Griffen has had trouble keeping his life together. Past issues range from angry tweets at his QB, to DWI and drug possession arrests, to numerous battles with mental health.

Flight forced to land so Everson Griffen could be removed

Which means that the reports coming out Thursday on Griffen… might not even be the most eye-popping of his life in the spotlight. But it’s a doozy, nonetheless. According to TMZ Sports, Everson was booted off of a Delta flight Wednesday that was on its way from Chicago to Minneapolis.

The airline told TMZ that he was removed from the flight due to “unruly behavior”. Crazier yet, the flight had already taken off, meaning pilots were forced to turn the plane around and return to O’Hare Airport, shortly after taking off.

According to Delta Air Lines, Griffen had exhibited “unruly behavior” on the jet as it was making its way from Chicago to Minneapolis … which forced pilots to return to O’Hare just minutes after they departed the airport.

TMZ Sports

Related: Randy Moss Demands More from Minnesota Vikings Superstar

Once back at the Chicago terminal, according to eyewitness accounts, Griffen calmly grabbed his things and de-boarded the flight. At this point, it’s unclear exactly how “unruly” the Minnesota Vikings’ 4x Pro Bowler was, while on the flight.

TMZ included one eyewitness account, however, which claims to have seen Everson Griffen attempting to smoke something in the plane bathroom right before the situation escalated into “a confrontation with flight attendants”.

One person who was on the plane tells us it looked like Griffen was trying to smoke something in the bathroom — which caused a confrontation with flight attendants.

TMZ Sports

Former Minnesota Vikings great denies being “unruly”

Everson Griffen has confirmed he is the person in the photos obtained by TMZ, posting a somewhat cryptic text graphic to his Instagram account that reads, “I’m doing just fine. My behavior was not unruly at all.. Why would they let me go?”

Reading between Everson’s thoughts, the 37-year-old seems to be suggesting that, had he actually been “unruly” on the flight, authorities would not have released him immediately after he got off the plane.

During his Minnesota Vikings career, Everson Griffen piled up 79.5 sacks, 370 tackles (90 TFL) and 186 QB Hits. From 2015 to 2019, he was one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL, posting 45 sacks, 211 tackles and 114 QB Hits in just five seasons, a stretch that earned him all four of his Pro Bowl appearances.

Who knows exactly what happened on that plane, but I’d imagine it will soon come to light. In the meantime, we’ll all hope that this is a small bump in the road of what seems to be a pretty healthy year for Griffen, after he was arrested on DWI and Cocaine possession charges in May of 2024.