Tom Johnson, and really the entire Vikings defense, has been moving too quickly for much nostalgia.
But at least Johnson has plenty of reason to look back this week as he returns to Europe for the first time since he was a Cologne Centurion. A decade ago, Johnson was a 23-year-old undrafted kid from Moss Point, Miss., assigned by the Colts to NFL Europe, where he spent the 2007 season keeping the dream alive under midlevel ex-college coaches in a foreign country.
On Thursday morning, Johnson landed in London a 33-year-old starting defensive tackle on the NFL’s fourth-ranked defense.