It’s a big offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers as an answer is needed at the quarterback position, and a handful of other holes on the roster need plugged in free agency and the NFL draft.
Decisions on extensions for names like tight end Pat Freiermuth, right guard James Daniels, and wide receiver Diontae Johnson need to be made, too.
For the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo though, during an appearance Monday on the “North Shore Drive Podcast” from the Post-Gazette on YouTube, he’s not getting a strong feeling that the Steelers want to go down the extension road with Johnson again.
“Perhaps they could do Johnson again, but I just don’t get a strong feeling that they want to go down that road again,” Fittipaldo stated. “So that’s something to keep an eye on.”
Coming off a 2023 season in which he hauled in a career-low 51 receptions for 717 yards and five touchdowns in just 13 games, Johnson enters the final year of his contract with the Steelers.
Previously, Johnson signed a two-year, $36.71 million extension in August 2022, locking Johnson up for the foreseeable future, the Steelers keeping their top receiver in the mix as they underwent a transition offensively.
Two years later though, Johnson is entering the final year of his deal and might not be long for Pittsburgh post-2024.
In the two seasons since signing the extension, Johnson has 137 catches for 1,599 yards and five touchdowns. Infamously, Johnson didn’t score a single touchdown in the 2022 season before finding the end zone in Week 9 at home against the Tennessee Titans, helping lead the Steelers to a 20-16 win over the Titans.
Prior to scoring that touchdown, Johnson had missed four games with a hamstring injury suffered in the second half of the season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers before returning in Week 7 on the road against the Los Angeles Rams.
At one point in 2023, Johnson scored a touchdown in three straight weeks. And he closed the season in strong fashion, hauling in a 71-yard touchdown in the Week 18 season finale win over the Baltimore Ravens, helping the Steelers get into the playoffs, and then added a touchdown in the Wild Card Round loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Despite some success last season, Johnson often found himself under fire for his actions on the field from an attitude standpoint. He had poor effort on a Jaylen Warren fumble in Cincinnati one play after failing to haul in a touchdown, which generated plenty of conversation in the week ahead regarding his effort and attitude.
He also had a blowup on the sideline in Cleveland that carried over into the locker room leading to an argument with Minkah Fitzpatrick. Though he’s aimed to be a leader for the Steelers and step up in a young wide receiver room, Johnson has struggled with his attitude and effort at times, which has hindered his ability to truly lead.
Now, entering the final year of his deal already making more than $16 million a year and potentially in line for another raise, it seems unlikely the Steelers do another deal with Johnson, at least from Fittipaldo’s point of view.
We’ll see what happens this summer with the veteran receiver. Right now though, he doesn’t appear to be a priority when it comes to a new deal.
