Vikings’ Shaq Griffin Signing, Which Could Cost Them a Comp Pick, Still Baffles.
Over a month later, the Vikings’ decision to sign veteran cornerback Shaquill Griffin to a one-year, $4.55 million deal in late March remains baffling. Not because of anything related to Griffin himself; he’s a solid player who fits Brian Flores’ scheme and will likely start for Minnesota this year. It was a puzzling move because it appears to have cost the Vikings a third-round compensatory pick in the 2025 draft.
The Vikings were projected to receive a pair of third-round comp picks (which are in the late 90s overall) for losing Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter in free agency this year. At least, that was the case until they signed Griffin. He became the fifth qualifying compensatory free agent (CFA) added by the Vikings, who lost six of them in March. That means that even though Griffin signed for far less than Hunter got to join the Texans, his addition cancelled out the pick the Vikings were set to receive for Hunter’s departure.
At the time, the possibility still existed of Dalton Risner signing a qualifying deal with another team, which would’ve gotten the Vikings back on the right side of the formula to receive a second comp pick. The deadline for that happening has now come and gone. And the Vikings’ decision to sign Griffin looks even more bizarre after a draft where they traded up multiple times in the first round, surrendering several of next year’s picks in the process. At the moment, the Vikings have just their first-rounder, the Cousins comp pick, and two fifth-rounders in the 2025 draft. That additional comp pick would’ve helped quite a bit.
