6 long-time Chiefs who just missed out on the Super Bowl years
By Joel Wagler
3. Derrick Johnson, LB (2005-17)
Like his long-time running mate Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson spent almost his entire career with the Chiefs. He was a talented sideline-to-sideline linebacker who is the Chiefs all-time leading tackler with 1,154.
The only things that could slow him down were two Achilles injuries and Todd Haley, who inexplicably stopped playing Johnson in 2009. Despite the limited action, Johnson recorded three interceptions that year, returning them for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Still, Haley hardly played him. Maybe that's why the Chiefs went 4-12 that season.
Johnson was named to four Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro in 2011, and second-team All-Pro in 2015, and will be a no-doubt candidate for the Chiefs' Ring of Honor.
Age caught to Johnson and the Chiefs did not re-sign him after the 2017 season. He joined the Raiders in 2018, but only six games. He just missed the long-awaited promise land of a Super Bowl victory with Kansas City, but his body of work for the franchise says he deserved one.