The Vikings have traded DE Erasmus James to the Washington Redskins for a conditional 7th round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.  James had been limping around in the off season and the Vikings just couldn’t depend on him staying healthy.  So they figured it was best to just cut bait with James and at least they got something for him instead of just releasing him.  James has been a huge disappointment for the Vikings in his career.  James played in 6 games last season for the Vikings and he made a whopping 7 tackles.  James finishes his career with the Vikings having played in 23 games in which he made 37 tackles, had 5 sacks and defended two passes.

The Vikings might have taken Tyrell Johnson a tad early but he has a large upside.  Johnson is a tad short at 5′11″, 200 pounds but he runs a 4.5 40 which isn’t bad.  Johnson played in 46 games (45 starts) at Arkansas State and he made 363 tackles, broke up 28 passes, had 13 interceptions, forced 4 fumbles and recovered 2 fumbles.  Despite playing at a small school, Johnson also saved his best for games against big teams like Texas.  Johnson will likely play free safety this season but he’s more effective at strong safety because he’s a good run defender.  Johnson will also contribute on special teams right away for the Vikings.