Entering the final year of his contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers and set to count $15,833,334 against the salary cap, including a $3 million roster bonus due on March 16, there has been speculation that wide receiver Diontae Johnson is a potential trade candidate.
Making a lot of money, lacking the production to match it the last two seasons, and struggling from a leadership standpoint to really guide the young receiver room has made Johnson a popular name for the Steelers to trade to create more cap space and recoup some draft picks.
It’s very unlikely Johnson plays anywhere but in Pittsburgh in 2024, though, and he could even be in line for an extension this summer based on a slip-up comment that GM Omar Khan started to make last week at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis before catching himself.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac certainly believes Johnson isn’t going anywhere, either. In response to a reader in his chat Wednesday morning, Dulac stated that he believes Johnson will be on the Steelers’ roster for the 2024 season opener.
“I’d say 100 right now,” Dulac said in response to a reader asking what percent chance that Johnson is on the roster Week 1, according to post-gazette.com.
Dulac was asked about Johnson just a few days after The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly created quite a stir by stating that the Steelers might be open to dealing Johnson because the veteran receiver might not want to be in Pittsburgh anymore. Kaboly’s comments came after NFL insider Tony Pauline reported that the Steelers were open to moving Johnson for the right price.
Johnson took to social media to try and put the rumors to rest, tweeting that “people just be talkin” regarding his standing with the Steelers.
The report from Pauline and then the speculation from Kaboly were a bit of a surprise after Khan hinted that the Steelers have had contract talks with Johnson and his representatives, adding that he has great respect for the fifth-year veteran.
Johnson unfairly gets a lot of criticism that simply isn’t rooted in fact. When discussing Johnson, quite often it turns to a perceived drops issue as well as him running backwards after the catch. Stats don’t exactly show that. Johnson had just two drops last season and has just nine total drops across 234 targets the last two seasons.
He also averaged a career-high 5.1 yards after the catch last season, taking his game to another level in that aspect.
While he hasn’t exactly produced like a true No. 1 receiver in the last two seasons since signing a second contract, he remains a really good receiver overall. He is key to the Steelers’ offensive attack as the X receiver who is an elite-level route runner and separator.
It’s never good to speak in absolutes, but something drastic would need to occur for the Steelers to move Johnson this offseason.
