According to Mike Silver of NFL Media, the Raiders and veteran LB Derrick Johnson have agreed to terms on an undisclosed contract Friday.
The Raiders brought Johnson in for a visit on Thursday, so he was clearly on their radar as a potential addition.
What’s interesting is that Oakland decided not to re-sign NaVorro Bowman and instead go with Johnson. Salary demands likely factored into the team’s decision, but it’s still somewhat surprising.
Johnson, 35, is a former first-round pick of the Chiefs back in 2005. He was entering in the second year of his three-year, $21 million contract that includes $9.75 million guaranteed when he agreed to a pay cut last year that reduced his base salary from $4.75 million to $1 million.
Johnson received a $1 million signing bonus as part of the renegotiation.
In 2017, Johnson appeared in 15 games and recorded 71 tackles, a forced fumble, a recovery and seven pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 33 linebacker out of 88 qualifying players.
We had him featured in our Top 50 Available 2018 NFL Free Agents list.
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