The Washington Redskins announced today they have signed defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Griffin is a talented, powerful and versatile player who is known both as a formidable run stopper and an aggressive pass rusher.
Griffin, 6-3 and 300 pounds, played the past four seasons with the NFC East-rival New York Giants. He has been a mainstay at defensive tackle for the Giants, posting 208 tackles (149 solo), 12.5 sacks, 11 passes defensed, three fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. He moved into the starting lineup in 2001 after serving as the team's top reserve defensive lineman during his rookie season in 2000.
In 2003, Griffin set a career-high in tackles when he recorded 68 (44 solo). He started 15 games, also adding one sack; two pass deflections and a forced fumble. His best game of the season came against Buffalo in Week 13, collecting eight tackles (5 solo) and a half sack.
Griffin started 14 games in 2002, stepping up to cover injuries along the defensive line. He recorded 53 tackles (38 solo), including four sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Redskins fans may remember Griffin's performance at FedExField (12/8/02), when he posted 10 tackles, a career-high three sacks and a forced fumble. He also started in the Giants Wild Card playoff loss at San Francisco, posting three tackles. In 2001, Griffin started all 16 games, recording 63 tackles (47 solo), 2.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.
Griffin had a solid rookie campaign, appearing in 15 regular season games and all three Giants post-season contests at both defensive end and tackle. He had a career-high five sacks and 24 tackles (20 solo), and added five passes defensed. In the Giants championship run, he had six tackles and three sacks during post-season play, including two tackles and 1.5 sacks in Super Bowl XXXV.
Griffin was a teammate of Redskins Pro Bowler Chris Samuels at the University of Alabama, starting 23-of-25 games at defensive tackle for the Crimson Tide. As a senior in 1999, he was a second-team All-SEC pick by coaches in the conference. He recorded 5.5 sacks with eight tackles for loss in 1999 and had 58 tackles (35 solo), a sack, six quarterback pressures and 10 tackles for loss in 1998.
