Minnesota Vikings Nearly Didn't Get Charles Johnson

Towards the end of last season, wide receiver Charles Johnson became a real bright spot for the Minnesota Vikings. After being signed off of the Cleveland Browns' practice squad in Week 3, he was in on nearly 95% of the team's snaps (357 out of 376) in the final six weeks of the season. For the most part, he played pretty well, with the highlight being his first career 100-yard game in December against the New York Jets.

According to our friends over at Dawgs by Nature, the Browns did what they could to keep Johnson as a member of their team, and went so far as to match the offer that he was given by the Vikings. So, what was the deciding factor?

Why, NORV~!, of course.

Browns did try to keep him (Matched MIN offer), but familiarity with Norv Turner's offense was the big reason why he chose to sign with MIN.

— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) July 30, 2015

See, this is a part of what having a well-respected coach on the staff can do for a team. If the Vikings didn't have someone the stature of Norv Turner on the sideline running the offense, Johnson may well have been tempted to bide his time in Cleveland, where they're not exactly stacked at receiver with the suspension of Josh Gordon.

The Browns' loss is Minnesota's gain, in this case. . .Johnson has been placed on NFL.com's list of players set to make the leap in 2015, and he's been showing a lot of good things in Training Camp thus far. Here's hoping that he can continue his upward trajectory alongside quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.