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Oakland Raiders not named Carr or Mack crucial to team’s 2018 success

By Kevin Saito

CARSON, CA - DECEMBER 31: The Oakland Raiders during the national anthem prior to the game against the Oakland Raiders at StubHub Center on December 31, 2017 in Carson, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
CARSON, CA - DECEMBER 31: The Oakland Raiders during the national anthem prior to the game against the Oakland Raiders at StubHub Center on December 31, 2017 in Carson, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Oakland Raiders
DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 15: Linebacker Derrick Johnson #56 of the Kansas City Chiefs defends against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on November 15, 2015 in Denver, Colorado. The Chiefs defeated the Broncos 29-13. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

Derrick Johnson

This year’s entry in Oakland’s seemingly annual search for a middle linebacker is longtime Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson.

When NaVorro Bowman was added in week six last season, he stepped right in and had an immediate impact. He led the team in tackles and helped shore up what had been a slightly better than pathetically awful linebackers group – a condition the unit has been in for a number of years now, if we’re being honest.

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    • Most assumed, given the mutual interest, the Raiders would re-sign Bowman this offseason, and that would be that. It never happened. The two sides couldn’t agree on money, so Bowman is still sitting out there waiting for his phone to ring.

    Enter Johnson. Now going into his fourteenth season in the league, Johnson is a bit long in the tooth at 35-years old – he’ll turn 36 in-season. Though his play has slipped a bit the last couple of seasons, he’s still been very effective in the middle of that Kansas City defense.

    Not effective enough for the Chiefs to hang on to their stalwart defender though. But Gruden was there to scoop him right up off the scrap heap and plug him into the middle of Oakland’s defense.

    Many question how much Johnson has left in the tank. While it’s true that he may not be as fast as he once was, he is still more asset than liability against both the run and the pass – which is a lot more than can be said for Oakland’s linebackers the last few years.

    With newcomers Tahir Whitehead, Emmanuel Lamur, Kyle Wilber, as well as holdovers Marquel Lee and Nicholas Morrow – and Johnson, of course – Oakland’s linebackers group will look vastly different than last year.

    But, for the Raiders to succeed in 2018, they’re going to have to play vastly different – and a whole lot better – as well.

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