In terms of tenure, going into his fifth season, nobody on the offensive side of the ball except for RT Chukwuma Okorafor and QB Mason Rudolph has served longer with the Pittsburgh Steelers than WR Diontae Johnson.
This is a young group overall in terms of draft picks, most starters going into their second or third seasons, with a sprinkling of veteran free agents or trade acquisitions who have been around no longer than a year or two.
So not many in the building right now have seen as much as Johnson has seen over the past half a decade with the Steelers. And he wants to see where it’s all heading, as well. Once a Steeler, always a Steeler is his mentality, expressed to Kevin Adams and Jersey Jerry on the Steel Here podcast, the latest episode launching earlier today featuring an interview with the elusive receiver.
“I was always dead set on wanting to be a Steeler. I want to retire a Steeler as well. I don’t want to play nowhere else”, he said during the interview, expressing love for the main constituents in the building from head coach Mike Tomlin to owner Art Rooney II. “I just love the energy they bring. And they embrace me when I come into the building”.
A 2019 third-round draft pick out of Toledo, Johnson’s rookie season featured the chaos that ensued following QB Ben Roethlisberger’s elbow injury that ended his year after six quarters. He still managed to score five touchdowns and was an All-Pro punt returner as well.
He was on a steady, upward trajectory until last year with the offense in a major period of transition after Roethlisberger’s retirement, but he is as confident as everybody else in the beginning that better things are ahead not just for him, but for the offense as a whole. Much of that has to do with the culture in the building set at the top.
“Coach T lets you be yourself. I love playing for a coach like that. He’s a player’s coach. You want to play for somebody like that. Me seeing him every day gets me hyped at practice”, he said. “I just like coming to work. I want to retire here. I don’t wanna play nowhere else”.
Johnson signed a two-year contract extension a year ago, of which the 2023 season is the first year. He is under contract through 2024, but it’s hard to say whether he should expect to see another extension next offseason before he hits the open market.
They do have George Pickens under contract and everybody seems to anticipate him being the next great wide receiver in the NFL. The way this season develops should go a long way toward determining how Pittsburgh intends to distribute its resources at the wide receiver position.
Coming off a season in which he failed to reach the end zone, Johnson knows that he has a lot to prove in 2023. He had been a Pro Bowler as a wide receiver just a year earlier, so it’s not a question of talent. Can he match that with the production once again with QB Kenny Pickett and OC Matt Canada? If so, and if he really wants to stay in Pittsburgh, I’m sure they’ll find a way to make it all work.
Watch the whole conversation at the link below.
