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In the off-season, the Minnesota Vikings bade farewell to DT Tom Johnson. Johnson was one of the more under rated free agent signings in the Rick Spielman era, having four productive seasons with the team. Originally signed to be a backup to Shariff Floyd, Johnson took over the starting job when Floyd was hurt. In the off-season, the Vikings signed DT Sheldon Richardson from the Seahawks, and Johnson ended up signing with Seattle during free agency.
Late last week, though, Seattle had to release Johnson, as they had a laundry list of injured players, and they needed to sign guys at other positions. To keep the roster at 53 players, Seattle released Johnson, with the intention of signing him back this week.
Yeah, that ain’t happening now:
The #Seahawks won’t be able to re-sign Tom Johnson after all. The #Vikings swooped in after the veteran DT’s release became official Monday and are expected to re-sign him to a one-year deal worth up to $1.5 million, source said. “Sebastian Thunderbucket” rides again.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 18, 2018
The Vikings pulled another bit of a Poison Pill scenario on the Seahawks, signing him before Seattle could re-sign him. Now, Johnson adds to what I think is a legitimately monstrous rotation of players at every position.
That still leaves unfinished business for the Vikings, as two players will have to be cut, with the impending signing of Dan Bailey looming. Either way, the only missing starter from last year’s defense is back, and it’s welcome news for everyone.
Welcome back Tom Johnson, and if we ever make a movie out of this we’ll call it Poison Pill II: Sebatian Thunderbucket’s Johnson.