THURSDAY, 5:15pm: Johnson’s third contract with the Chiefs is official, according to the team’s website.
WEDNESDAY, 6:37pm: A day after locking up longtime defensive stalwart Tamba Hali, the Chiefs will bring back another franchise icon. The club will re-sign middle linebacker Derrick Johnson to a three-year, $21MM deal, he told ESPN’s Josina Anderson (Twitter link).
“Just agreed to it,” Johnson said (Twitter link via Anderson).
Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star reported earlier that a deal was imminent (on Twitter).
A Chief since they drafted him 15th overall in 2005, Johnson had a magnificent bounce-back year last season after missing nearly all of 2014 with a torn Achilles. The ex-Texas Longhorn started 16 games for the sixth time in his career and totaled 116 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles, and ranked eighth out of 97 qualifying linebackers at Pro Football Focus (subscription required). The 33-year-old also made his fourth Pro Bowl.
Entering free agency, PFR’s Luke Adams ranked Johnson as the 46th-best player available and No. 4 inside linebacker, behind Danny Trevathan, Jerrell Freeman, and Rolando McClain. Trevathan and McClain have since signed with the Bears and Cowboys, respectively.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.