"He came to have a look at us and was pleased with the character of the team and the performance," Phil Brown, Derby boss, said. "It's in its early stages but, with a bit of luck, Seth might be a Derby player in the future. Seth's shown an interest and the feeling is mutual."
Johnson joined the Rams for £3m from Crewe in May 1999 and made 80 appearances for the club. His form led to an England debut under caretaker boss Peter Taylor in November 2000 in the friendly against Italy.
But his career at Leeds, after a huge £7m transfer, was interupted by injury and he made only 59 appearances before his contract was cancelled by mutual consent last week.