Raiders sign former Chiefs LB Johnson
ALAMEDA (TNS) – Derrick Johnson has worn red and white for 13 years, dating back to Jon Gruden’s first stint as a head coach in the NFL.
After a decade-plus with the division rival Chiefs, Johnson signed with the Raiders Friday. He’s the oldest player on the team at 35 years old – he turns 36 in November – yet could start at middle linebacker on a team that has yet to re-sign Navorro Bowman.
“I’ve known Derrick a while. He brings us status at a critical position,” Gruden said Friday. “He’s got a great history in this league, been productive under a lot of different coaches, different schemes.”
Johnson made four Pro Bowls in his time with Kansas City, racking up 939 total tackles, 27.5 sacks, 23 forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries, 14 interceptions, four defensive touchdowns and 78 passes deflected. He currently stands as the all-time leading tackler for the team that took him 15th overall in the 2005 draft. His most-recent Pro Bowl appearance came in 2015, the year after he suffered a torn Achilles.
Johnson joins a youthful linebacking corps consisting of 28-year-old Tahir Whitehead and 22-yearolds Nicholas Morrow and Marquel Lee. The Raiders waived 24-year-old Cory James earlier Friday after he failed a physical. Oakland also drafted Washington linebacker Azeem Victor in the sixth round last weekend. Johnson surpasses left tackle Donald Penn, who turned 35 last week, as the oldest player on the team.
“He understands the AFC West, he certainly
Kansas City STAR/TNS The Oakland Raiders added Kansas City Chiefs’ all-time leading tackler Derrick Johnson to their linebacking corps on Friday.
understands this rivalry,” Gruden said of Johnson. “I’m really excited to add him to our team with Tahir Whitehead and some of our young linebackers. I think his presence will be very valuable.”
One would assume Johnson’s signing spells the end of Oakland’s pursuit to re-sign Bowman, though Gruden said otherwise.
“I wouldn’t assume anything,” Gruden said. “As you’ve seen, we’ve made a lot of moves and that probably means we’re gonna make more moves in the coming days. We just wanna get better. There’s a strong sense of urgency to get better. We’ve added some young defensive tackles, some young linebackers, we like the direction we’re headed, but getting a guy like Derrick Johnson, I think, could be huge for us.”
Bowman started 10 games for Oakland after signing before the Raiders’ Week 7 game against Kansas City. The veteran, who turns 30 this month, amassed 89 tackles in silver and black last season. Johnson started 15 games for the Chiefs last season and recorded 71 tackles.