John Johnson To The Raiders– What Will It Take?

The Las Vegas Review Journal and Raiders beat writer, Vinny Bonsignore stated in a tweet Tuesday afternoon that the Cleveland Browns are expected to part ways with 27-year-old Strong Safety John Johnson, and to “keep an eye” on the Raiders to step in and acquire the 6-year veteran upon free agency. 

Johnson, who signed a 3-yr/$33.75M contract with the Browns in 2021 (according to Spotrac), is coming off a stellar season where he amassed 101 combined tackles, four tackles for loss, one inteception, and two forced fumbles. There is no doubt that a Raiders acquisition of Johnson would shore up a currently vacant position at SS, as well as placing a fringe Pro-Bowl type player in the secondary, which has struggled in previous seasons. 

A John Johnson acquisition would be nice, but what does a contract for him look like? First, we cannot ignore the fact that his stay in Cleveland has soured for whatever reason (hence, the reason why the Browns are willing to eat $12.6M in dead cap upon release, according to Spotrac). As a result, it is imperative that the Raiders do their due diligence in the negotiation room when talks begin to heat up. The Raiders cannot afford to have another malcontent in the locker room with an albatross of a contract. A safe, low-risk, high-reward type contract would be ideal for the Raiders, loaded with incentives to appease Johnson’s camp. 

Proposed Contract: 2-yr/$19M, with $10M guaranteed, $1M sign bonus. 

The 6-yr veteran out of Boston College has a career total of 512 total tackles, 13 TFLs, and 12INTs in 86 games played. The 2023 Free Agency period begins March 13-15th, where the legal negotiation window opens. Free agents can then sign with teams on the 15th at 4PM EST.