Brad Johnson has earned a better deal from the Vikings

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 8/23/2006

After beating the defending Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers 17-10 on the road, the Vikings are 1-1 in the preseason, with a game against the Baltimore Ravens coming next Friday, August 25, at the Metrodome. Last week was a tough one for the Vikings and Head Coach Brad Childress, who is trying to build a tough-minded football team that plays hard and is disciplined.

 

First the Vikings lost on Monday night to the Oakland Raiders 16-13 when Childress decided to pass on a last-second game-tying field goal. After the loss, the Vikings found out No.1 draft choice linebacker Chad Greenway will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL ligament. The Vikings were counting on Greenway to make an immediate impact.

 

Two days later, the Vikings and Childress got kicked in the gut when wide receiver Koren Robinson was arrested and jailed on a DWI charge that threatens to cost the team one of its top offensive players.

 

Robinson played great and made the Pro Bowl last season after being signed by the Vikings. When alcohol problems had derailed his career in Seattle, the Seahawks cut Robinson, but the Vikings gave him a chance to save his career.

 

Robinson was caught on radar in his blue BMW sedan going more than 100 mph in a 55-mph zone at 10:45 pm in St. Peter last Tuesday; he was trying to make an 11 pm team curfew in Mankato. Robinson refused to stop for officers and was finally arrested 10 miles away in Mankato. Robinson was charged with fleeing from police, a felony, along with two DWI charges and three other misdemeanors. His blood alcohol content was at 0.11 percent.

 

"I couldn't be more disappointed for him, for this football team, and for the community to have this happen,” said Childress, who was hired primarily to help clean up the image of the Vikings on the heels of last year’s now-famous lewd love boat cruise, which resulted in three Vikings being convicted of misdemeanors. "One of the reasons I'm here in this job and one of the mandates from the Wilf family is that they want this [Vikings] ship run right," Childress stressed.

 

Robinson's prior history points to his career being in serious trouble. He was suspended in 2004 for a second violation of the NFL's substance-abuse policy while playing for Seattle. He could be suspended for one year by the NFL, and he has clearly violated his probation from the previous DUI incident he settled last year.

 

The Vikings signed Robinson to a new three-year contract in the off season that is worth up to $12.7 million, including a $5.5 million dollar guaranteed bonus, which clearly rewarded him for his outstanding Pro Bowl season.

 

Speaking of being rewarded, the Vikings need to take care of Brad Johnson, the veteran quarterback, and tear up his current contract. When Johnson was signed last year to back up now-departed Daunte Culpepper, his deal was as a backup. Remember, Culpepper got hurt and Johnson led the Vikings to six straight wins; and the team finished 9-7. Johnson’s record as a starter is outstanding at 65-43; with the Vikings, it’s at 22-10.

 

Johnson has played for the Vikings (twice), Tampa Bay and Washington, and he has led all three teams as a starter to the playoffs — now that's impressive. And he's a master at managing a game and making the right decisions. As we've seen with Robinson, that includes off the field as well. There are 32 starting QB's in the NFL; Johnson has the 39^th-ranked contract among quarterbacks in the league, which is a joke when you think about it. This man led Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl XXXVII win over Oakland.

 

Regardless of whether you agree with the decision the Vikings made to trade Culpepper or not, Johnson is the man Childress decided would be his field general and leader of this team. If you can give Robinson — with a checkered past — nearly $13 million, then Johnson based on his leadership qualities, performance and discipline deserves to be treated like the Vikings value his leadership.

 

If his current contract is not torn up, the Vikings are sending mixed messages to their football team and fans.