Minnesota Vikings WR Charles Johnson: ‘I’m a team guy’
By Adam Carlson
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Charles Johnson looked like a rising star during the 2014 season, but a disappointing 2015 has him hoping to make a rebound.
After a breakout 2014 season, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Charles Johnson looked like a guy that could cement a starting job for the team for many years to come. However, an injury in 2015 found rookie Stefon Diggs stepping into his role and playing so well that the team couldn’t go back to Johnson.
In fact, things got even worse for Johnson. Not only did he lose his starting job to Diggs, but he found himself slowly moving down the depth chart and eventually ended up on the Vikings inactives list.
Despite being healthy, Charles Johnson was regulated for the sidelines. He didn’t register a single catch after week 9 and ended the season with only 9 catches for 127 yards. Head coach Mike Zimmer recently said that Johnson’s deactivation has less to do with his play and more to do with wanting more defensive players available on game day according to Vikings.com.
"“It came down to a numbers game a little bit,” Zimmer said. “Diggs came in and had a big role. I wanted to dress more guys on defense.”"
Charles Johnson knows how fickle the NFL is. One second, you can be the next big then and the next moment you can be yesterday’s news. While it’s frustrating for him knowing that the team has been planning their games without him.
However, Johnson wants to be the guy that does what it takes to help the Minnesota Vikings win football games. He’s willing to put the frustration of the 2015 season behind him and focus on getting better for the future of the team and his career.
"“It wasn’t very long, just a couple weeks, few weeks (he was out), but when things are clicking and we’re winning games it’s hard to change things up,” Johnson said. “I’m a big guy, I’m built on routines. I’m built on some superstition things. Where I’m like, if I do this, this week and we win, I want to do the exact same thing. So it’s kind of just things like that, and I’m a team guy, I want to win games. That’s most important. I do want to help my team win, and it was just kind of unfortunate this season.”"
The Minnesota Vikings have Charles Johnson under contract through the 2016 season, so it appears as though the dynamic young pass catcher will get another chance to impress the team and earn some playing time before his time with the team is over.