Despite one of the most active offseasons in franchise history, the Minnesota Vikings are set to enter training camp thin at a number of key position groups, most notably safety, cornerback and defensive tackle.
The competition at corner should be a storyline that carries the summer, as it’s unclear who will emerge alongside Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers. The safety battle will be just as intriguing, as defensive coordinator Brian Flores has routinely deployed three safeties during his time in Minnesota, and he currently has only two known commodities at the postion in Harrison Smith and Josh Metellus.
Minnesota likely isn’t done adding to its secondary, and Moe Moton of Bleacher Report predicts GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will take a shot on former Los Angeles Rams starter John Johnson III. Here was his take:
“At safety, the Vikings have Harrison Smith and Josh Metellus in starting spots and not much behind them. Fourth-year veteran Theo Jackson and third-year pro Jay Ward have played 285 career defensive snaps combined,” Moton wrote. “Johnson has experience at both safety positions, and he can also take on assignments in the slot. Last September, he suffered a hairline fracture in his scapula. Now healthy, the 29-year-old can fill multiple roles.”
After passing on the big-name safeties both in free agency and April’s draft, a late veteran signing like this would make some sense. Johnson flashed early in his career as a starter on some good Rams teams, including a breakout season in 2018 during L.A.’s run to the Super Bowl (13-3 loss to Patriots). He wound up spending a two-year stint with the Cleveland Browns before returning to L.A. in more of a reserve role.
Johnson has had a productive, eight-year pro career despite some recent injury-plagued seasons. He’s racked up 562 tackles and 15 interceptions in 105 career games, and was once rated among PFF’s highest-graded safeties in the NFL.
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How much does Johnson have left in the tank for 2025? That’s fair to question, but adding cheap veteran depth like this on a minimum contract is more than feasible, unless Flores has bigger plans than anticipated for special teams ace Theo Jackson.
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