Johnson keeps on winning

DALLAS – The Minnesota Vikings traded up in the second round of the 2006 draft to select Tarvaris Jackson, thus anointing him as their quarterback of the future.

So once again a team is looking to replace Brad Johnson. Never has such a quality quarterback been afforded such little respect.

But why shouldn’t the Vikings be looking toward the future? Johnson turned 38 last week. He can’t play forever. Or can he?

“I think I can play a few more years pretty easily,” Johnson said. “My game is the same now as it was when I was 27. I get back quick, make the read, I’m decisive and get the ball out of my hand. It’s not like I’m running around playing crazy ball.

“I’d like to play another three or four years, for sure.”

This is Johnson’s second tour of duty with the Vikings in his 14 seasons. He also has played for Washington and Tampa Bay.

Johnson is the last quarterback to take the Redskins to a division title. That was in 1999, when he passed for 4,005 yards. Washington got rid of him a year later. Johnson also quarterbacked the Buccaneers to their only Super Bowl championship, in 2002. He led the NFC in passing efficiency that season with 22 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Two years later, he was out of there.

Johnson re-signed with the Vikings in 2005 as a free agent to serve as an insurance policy. But after Daunte Culpepper suffered a season-ending knee injury in the seventh game, Johnson saved Minnesota’s season.

Johnson steered the Vikings to seven victories in nine starts, rallying them to a 9-7 record and second-place finish in the NFC North. His reward? The Vikings drafted a QB to replace him.

Johnson is a guy who has won 61 percent of 109 career starts. He’s a 62 percent career passer and ranks among the NFL’s top 20 most efficient quarterbacks of all time.