During the latter portion of the 2015 NFL season, Pro Bowl defensive end Everson Griffen was dealing with a shoulder injury. He was listed on the injury report numerous times, but fought through it to have an outstanding year, including making what was probably the Minnesota Vikings' most important defensive play of the year.

After the Vikings' season ended, Head Coach Mike Zimmer expected that Griffen would have surgery on that shoulder and that he was likely dealing with a torn labrum. However, according to Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, it sounds like Griffen's rehab is going well enough that surgery is not going to be required after all.

Hopefully this doesn't turn into another Sidney Rice situation. Rice, if you'll recall, injured his hip in the 2009 NFC Championship Game, declined to have surgery during the offseason, and on the second day of camp in 2010 decided that he needed the surgery after all, leaving him on the sideline until mid-November. (Seriously, Sidney Rice doesn't get enough credit/blame for the role he played in guiding the Vikings' 2010 season into the toilet.) I don't think that's going to end up being the case here, however.

Here's hoping that Griffen's rehab continues to go well and that he's full go for the Vikings' 2016 season.