Since the end of the 2011 season, it has been thought that cornerback Cedric Griffin's time on the Vikings' roster was going to be limited. He is due just a shade over $4 million in salary, and after two reconstructive knee surgeries and his abysmal performance for the better part of last season, he doesn't fit into the Vikings' plans over the long-term, even on a team with a secondary as bad as Minnesota's.

According to Tom Pelissero from 1500 ESPN, it sounds like Griffin is already well aware that he's not going to be back in purple next season. I've read a couple of things online that say Griffin wasn't interested in taking a pay cut. . .and why would he be, considering he's got a cap number of a shade over $5.2 million, and isn't going to get anywhere near that on the open market.

But, as Pelissero notes, there were plenty of times this past season where it had become clear that Griffin had no desire to be back, including the part where he got benched for nearly three full games for (apparently) deciding that he wanted to play outside of the Cover-2 scheme and got absolutely humiliated a couple of times.

I'd say that Griffin's loss would be huge for the Vikings, but honestly, this secondary is bad with or without him. Even though he is a warrior for battling back from the injuries he came back from, the sad reality is that, as it stands right now, he's not a great player, and he certainly isn't worthy of receiving more than $5 million from the Minnesota Vikings.

Thanks for everything, Cedric Griffin. . .you definitely had your moments in Minnesota, but it appears it's time to go.