An NFL general manager has a lot on his plate, especially in the offseason. In late February, the entire NFL world descends on Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine, including the Steelers. General manager Omar Khan spoke with the media at his podium availability on Thursday and a lot was covered. He was asked about talks with WR Diontae Johnson — the latter is going into the final year of his contract — and Khan let it slip that there potentially have been discussions.
“As of right now, we’re having conver-” Khan began to say before cutting himself off. “I’m not gonna speak to specific negotiations for an individual player, but I have a lot of respect for Diontae. Usually, as you guys know, the extensions happen later on in the year.”
Khan may not want to publicly declare that contract talks have begun with any player, and that’s okay. However, if extensions happen later in the year, talks have to begin beforehand. Talks are no guarantee of a contract, but it does verify that there is some interest in keeping Diontae Johnson around. That coming despite Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette saying that he doesn’t get a sense that the Steelers want to do that.
As for why the Steelers would want an extension, Johnson has played in 77 games with 67 starts since Pittsburgh took him in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He has averaged 11.2 yards on 391 career catches with 4,363 yards with 25 receiving touchdowns. He missed time during the 2023 season with a hamstring injury that sidelined him for four games, and it snapped a streak of three straight seasons with 100-plus targets.
However, Diontae Johnson did make the most of his 51 catches, posting a career-high 14.1 yards per reception. He also bounced back from no touchdowns in 2022 to with five scoring receptions in 2023 despite all the Steelers’ offensive issues. He also had a career-long 71-yard reception, a fourth-quarter touchdown that proved to be the game-winning score against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18.
