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Vikings DE Everson Griffen out Sunday after crashing car to avoid deer in road

It took two weeks for the NFL to deliver its first bizarre injury of the regular season.

Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters Friday that Everson Griffen had been ruled out for Sunday's game after the veteran defensive end swerved his car to avoid a deer on the road while driving to the team's practice facility Thursday.

Griffen was officially ruled out for the game against the Arizona Cardinals with a concussion designation on the Vikings' injury report.

The injury continues what has been an odd second act with the Vikings for Griffen this season.

After spending 10 seasons with the team, which drafted him in the fourth round in 2010, Griffen spent last season with the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions. He returned to Minnesota as a free agent last offseason, a move made awkward by a past deleted tweet in which he called current Vikings starting quarterback Kirk Cousins "ass" and implied Zimmer never wanted him under center.

Griffen has since apologized for the tweet and told reporters he would apologize to Cousins man-to-man. He was released in a surprise move about a week later. That turned out to be a procedural manuever, as the Vikings re-signed him one day later.

Now, Griffen is missing the second game of the season due to a deer, after registering no tackles on 28 snaps in the Vikings' opening defeat to the Bengals in overtime.