Vikings Let Michael Johnson Get Out of Town, May Not Get Him Back

By Dan Zinski | Mar 14, 2015

Michael Johnson made the Vikings and old DC Mike Zimmer his first visit after being cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and though Johnson’s Friday face-to-face with Vikings brass reportedly “went well,” Johnson still got on a plane Saturday morning and headed for his next visit in Cincinnati.

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It could mean nothing that Johnson moved on to his next visit after being wooed by Rick Spielman, Mike Zimmer and company. It’s possible Johnson is merely showing courtesy to his other old coach Marvin Lewis by taking the visit in Cincinnati.

It’s also possible that when the Vikings and Johnson talked turkey, Johnson didn’t like the flavor of the turkey they were talking.

Johnson certainly can’t complain about the treatment he got in Minnesota. Last night Spielman, Zimmer, DC George Edwards and D-Line coach Andre Patterson took Johnson out for dinner at Manny’s, the finest and most expensive eatery in the Twin Cities.

Not all free agents get the Manny’s dinner. Only the special guys like Greg Jennings receive that level of treatment.

Clearly, Michael Johnson is someone the Vikings would love to add. They wanted to add him last year too but Tampa Bay simply offered more money.

As we saw with the Mike Wallace trade, Rick Spielman is perfectly happy to come back a second time around and make it happen with a player he missed the first time. Rick is nothing if not tenacious.

So, there’s still a very good chance Johnson ends up signing with the Vikings. But he’s going to Cincinnati first, either as a courtesy gesture or because he still hasn’t made up his mind where he wants to play in 2015.

Until Johnson signs, Viking fans will be nervously refreshing Twitter looking for updates.

Next: Vikings Rumors: Patterson On the Trade Block?

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