EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- While the Minnesota Vikings celebrated their NFC North championship Sunday night in the visitor's locker room at Lambeau Field, wide receiver Charles Johnson stood quietly on one side of the room, in the stadium where he'd begun his NFL career.
Johnson went from Green Bay through Cleveland to the Vikings, where he went from being a little-used receiver to playing such an important role in the Vikings' offense that offensive coordinator Norv Turner called Johnson the Vikings' top receiver late last season. Johnson caught 31 passes for 475 yards in 2014, developing a rapport with Teddy Bridgewater that helped him supplant Cordarrelle Patterson as the Vikings' starting split end last year.