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Defensive end Everson Griffen was faced with a decision this offseason that many other NFL Players have faced at points in their careers.

Griffen needed to take a pay cut or get cut by the Vikings as they moved toward the 2019 season. Griffen chose the pay cut and spoke to reporters about that choice from the team’s facility on Tuesday.

Griffen said, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press, that the pay cut was a “tough pill to swallow,” but a 2018 season that featured a drop in production and an absence to deal with mental health issues left him little choice if he wanted to realize his goal of being a Viking for his entire career.

“I had a rough year. … When I came back, I didn’t play that well … I knew when the free agency came up it was going to lead to taking a pay cut,” Griffen said.

Griffen is signed for three more years and the Vikings would get a lot of cap space back by moving on from him after this season. The veteran said he’d deal with those issues when the time comes, but is focused on putting forth a better on-field effort at the moment.