Why Raiders coach Jon Gruden said it made sense to sign linebacker Derrick Johnson

Derrick Johnson spent the past 13 seasons donning the gold and red of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 35-year-old linebacker will trade those colors and wear the silver and black and the Oakland Raiders.

Raiders head coach Jon Gruden announced the signing of Johnson after Friday’s rookie mini-camp in Alameda.

“He brings us status at a critical position,” Gruden told reporters. “He’s got a great history in this league, been productive under a lot of different coaches, different schemes. He understands the AFC West, he certainly understands this rivalry, and we’re just really excited to add him to our team with Tahir Whitehead, and some of our young linebackers. His presence is very valuable.”

In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, Johnson said “I still have a fire burning. I can still play at a high level, and I want to prove that.”

The Raiders signed Whitehead in March and also added linebacker Emmanuel Lemur of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Gruden didn’t rule out the possibility of re-signing NaVorro Bowman, who played 10 games with the Raiders last season.

“As you’ve seen, we’ve made a lot of moves, and that means we’re probably going to make more moves in the coming days,” he said. “We just want to 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.”

Upcoming Raiders Offseason Workout Program Dates

Rookie mini-camp: Friday-Sunday

OTA Offseason Workouts: May 22-24, May 29-31, June 4-7

Mandatory mini-camp: June 12-14

This story was originally published May 4, 2018 at 7:22 PM with the headline "Why Raiders coach Jon Gruden said it made sense to sign linebacker Derrick Johnson."