Raiders cut veteran linebacker Derrick Johnson

ALAMEDA - Jon Gruden announced Tuesday the Raiders cut veteran linebacker Derrick Johnson after six games with the team.

The Raiders signed Johnson in free agency this offseason with the intention of making him their starting middle linebacker after he spent 13 seasons with the division rival Chiefs. He started as that, but quickly fell out of favor with the coaching staff as second-year linebacker Marquel Lee jumped him on the depth chart.

Johnson, who turns 36 on Nov. 22 and was the Raiders’ oldest player, saw more defensive snaps than Lee the first two weeks of the season - 62 percent to 38 percent in Week 1 and 65 percent to 38 percent in Week 2 - but Lee has played far more than Johnson the last four games. Here are the defensive snap count breakdowns from Weeks 3-6 for the two linebackers:

Week 3: Lee, 64 percent; Johnson, 32 percent.

Week 4: Lee, 79 percent; Johnson, 26 percent.

Week 5: Lee, 75 percent; Johnson, 28 percent.

Week 6: Lee, 75 percent; Johnson, 26 percent.

“I’d like to thank Derrick Johnson. I talked to him last night,” Gruden said Tuesday. “Obviously it’s a very tough decision for us. He did a great job coming in here and giving us some leadership. We made that roster change and we certainly wish Derrick Johnson the best.”

Johnson is a four-time Pro Bowler and became one of the most respected linebackers in the league in his decade-plus with Kansas City. Gruden sold him on the Raiders by convincing him they could win now, and Johnson bought in. But Gruden and the Raiders couldn’t buy into Johnson past Week 6. Johnson ranked seventh on the team with 17 tackles through six weeks.

At a fan rally at Ricky’s Sports Theatre and Grill right before training camp, Gruden said to more than 500 Raiders fans, “Just to make the Kansas City Chiefs real mad, we signed Derrick Johnson!” So much for that, as the Raiders reshape a linebacking corps especially struggling to defend against the run (allowing 131.8 yards per game, 28th in the league).

In Johnson’s place, undrafted rookie linebacker Jason Cabinda was promoted to the active roster. Cabinda saw some first-team reps in camp, and he might’ve been signed to another active roster if the Raiders waited any longer.

“He delivered some of the things that we wanted,” Gruden said of Johnson. “Obviously helping our young linebacking corps, guys like Marquel Lee, Nick Morrow, Jason Cabinda in particular. Cabinda had generated a lot of interest from other teams. We didn’t want to lose him. It was a tough decision.”