It was a scary sight for the Pittsburgh Steelers early in the second half of the Week One loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson lay crumpled on the turf, grabbing the back of his leg after a 26-yard catch-and-run.
Johnson suffered a hamstring injury on the play, immediately leaving the game and being ruled out rather quickly.
Though Johnson is expected to miss up to four weeks, he has not been placed on Injured Reserve. Speaking with reporters Thursday from inside the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side, Johnson stated that he couldn’t quite walk in the days following the loss, but that he’s feeling a bit better now and isn’t putting a timetable on his recovery, according to a tweet from ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.
The injury looked bad right away with Johnson going down in a heap at the end of his catch-and-run without being hit. Immediately he grabbed at his right hamstring and had medical attention on the field before walking off gingerly. Johnson spent a short time in the blue tent on the sideline before being ruled out of the game, delivering a big blow to the Steelers’ wide receiver room.
According to video on Twitter via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski, Johnson said that he struggled to walk for 48 hours, but on Thursday he started doing some light running at practice. Johnson does not have a wrap on his leg and added that he will remain around the team while recovering from the injury.
Without Johnson on the field, it will force veteran Allen Robinson II into a larger role, as well as second-year receiver Calvin Austin III. On Sunday against the 49ers, the two combined for 11 receptions in the 30-7 loss. How the snaps and alignments get divided up without Johnson in the fold remains to be seen. There is no doubt though that it’s a tough blow.
“I know it’s going to be tough on the offense when I’m not there; it’s a big hit to the offense. But our wide receiver room, we’ve got a bunch of great guys there. We’ve got a great quarterback who knows what he’s doing, that can put the ball anywhere for guys to make play on the outside,” Johnson said to reporters, according to video via 93.7 The Fan’s Jeff Hathhorn on Twitter. “So I’m not worried, I’m just worried about me being around, being that presence for them, showing them that I’m there…can help them out in certain ways.”
It’s going to be tough without Johnson, but a guy like George Pickens — who talked this offseason about being the best receiver in the world — has a real opportunity to step up and prove that his belief is true. The Steelers will have to navigate games against the Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens without Johonson should he miss the four weeks many expect.
There’s still a chance Johnson goes on IR to open a roster spot and let him fully recover. That would keep him out until Week Seven on the road against Los Angeles, which would give him an extra week with the Week Six bye to fully recover from the hamstring injury.
We’ll see what the Steelers decide moving forward with Johnson. With the injury as painful as he said it was and him being unable to walk early on, it might be smart to protect Johnson from himself with an injury like a hamstring issue.
