Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
DAVE CAMPBELL
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS - In a long-expected move, the Minnesota Vikings released quarterback Brad Johnson on Wednesday and made the 15-year veteran an unrestricted free agent.
Tarvaris Jackson, who started the final two games of last season as a rookie, and Brooks Bollinger are the only quarterbacks remaining on the roster.
After the Vikings had recurring problems on offense and finished 6-10, coach Brad Childress ruled Johnson out of the running for the job in 2007 and declared the position an open competition between Jackson and Bollinger. At the time, Childress indicated he was confident in finding a starter between them.
At the NFL's scouting combine last week, however, Childress acknowledged that he spoke with Jackson about the chance that Minnesota could use the seventh overall draft pick on a quarterback - or perhaps in a later round. Notre Dame's Brady Quinn might be available when the Vikings are up at No. 7.
The league's free-agent signing period opens Friday, but the team has all but eliminated - at least publicly - the possibility of pursuing a quarterback through that avenue. They have plenty of other positions in need of an upgrade.
When the season ended, Childress indicated that Johnson would be welcomed back in a mentoring role, but the 38-year-old - who has a fierce competitive drive that belies his easygoing demeanor - said that he still believes he can be a starter.
A ninth-round draft pick by Minnesota in 1992 out of Florida State who spent nine years with the team spanning two stints, Johnson revived his career in 2005 when he took over as the starter following a season-ending injury to Daunte Culpepper's knee.
Helped by an improved defense, the Vikings went 7-2 with Johnson under center and just missed the playoffs at 9-7. Johnson looked like the ideal player to run the low-risk, grind-it-out offense that Childress installed when he was named head coach in 2006.
But he made uncharacteristic mistakes, throwing 15 interceptions against only nine touchdown passes and drawing criticism from Childress after more than one bad game.
Johnson, who won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay in the 2002-03 season, is fifth in franchise history with 11,093 yards passing behind Fran Tarkenton, Tommy Kramer, Culpepper and Wade Wilson.
"Brad has been a true pro throughout his career, and we wish him the best as he moves forward," Childress said in a prepared statement released by the club. "Brad was an important part of the team and a guy who led by example on and off the field. He's a class act and a guy younger players could learn a lot from about what it takes to play in the NFL."