MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings signed former Tennessee Titans Pro Bowler Michael Griffin in March, hoping he could turn into the kind of dynamic safety they have sought to pair with Harrison Smith.
On Saturday, they let go of that idea.
The team released Griffin after Andrew Sendejo held on to the starting safety job next to Smith.
Griffin, 31, thanked the Vikings in an Instagram post Saturday.
The Vikings, who signed Griffin to a one-year, $2.5 million deal, reunited him with former Titans defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, who is now the Vikings' defensive backs coach.
Griffin's history as a coverage safety seemed to pair well with Smith's ability to move around the Vikings' defensive formation, but the team needed to see if Griffin could still play at a high level after the Titans released him in February.
Instead, the Vikings decided to make Sendejo the starter, and they will keep seventh-round pick Jayron Kearse after an impressive preseason in which the Clemson product intercepted two passes and forced a fumble.
Griffin came out of the Vikings' third preseason game against the Chargers after his back seized up on him, and was walking around on crutches after the game. He did not play the Vikings' fourth preseason game against the Rams.