AP

Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen returned to the Vikings on Wednesday and took part in practice with the team for the first time since taking a leave to deal with personal issues.

The move to focus on that aspect of his life came after a series of disturbing incidents inside and outside of work and Griffen apologized “to the people I impacted” while taking full responsibility for the actions during a press conference. He declined to discuss the specifics of his issues, but said it was the right thing for him and something that he expects to address at some point in the future.

“This is bigger than football,” Griffen said. “This is all part of the process. We’ve got a good group of individuals in place — the Minnesota Vikings, myself, my doctors, my family. We’ve got a plan in place. We’re going to execute the plan day in and day out. We’re going to stay on top of it. That’s our goal.”

Griffen, who said there’s been no determination about whether he’d play, urged others who might be struggling to get help and hopes that when he shares his story that it will provide some help to people in similar situations.