While catching up on a hectic morning and early afternoon, I tripped over an e-mail from the Vikings that eventually made my jaw drop.
At first, it didn’t drop. Because I assumed that the there must be another tackle named Charlie Johnson, other than the one that plays left tackle for the Colts. You know, the one who started 15 games at left tackle for the Colts last year, protecting Peyton Manning’s blind side.
After donating a few page views to the billionaires at Google, it was then clear that the Vikings had swiped Johnson away from the Colts, even though the Colts had hoped to keep him.
“I wouldn’t say that ship has sailed,” Colts vice chairman Bill Polian said on Sunday regarding the chances of keeping Johnson. “We’ll discuss it as we go forward. But the market has slowed down right now. So who’s to say what’s going on at this point.”
What’s going on at this point is that Johnson is gone. And so only one day after Manning talked about taking less money so that quality players could be put in place around him, one of the most important players to a slow-footed, aging, right-handed quarterback will be protecting Donovan McNabb instead.
Of course, Johnson likely won’t supplant Bryant McKinnie as Minnesota’s left tackle. But Johnson can play other positions on the line, including both guard positions and right tackle. Either way, he gives the Vikings some help with a unit that could use it.