Buy Or Sell: The Steelers “won” the Diontae Johnson trade after getting CB Donte Jackson at a reduced salary.
Explanation: Acquired via trade for WR Diontae Johnson, Donte Jackson reportedly agreed to a new one-year, $6 million contract. That lowers his cap number by about $4.5 million, netting the Steelers about $4 million in cap from the trade. While most agree Johnson is the more talented player, Jackson now brings some cap relief. He also addresses a position of need while the Steelers parted with a player who apparently caused disruptions behind the scenes.
Buy:
It occurred to me after starting this piece that a lot of people already felt the Steelers won this trade. Still, many remained unmoved by the idea of losing a starting wide receiver as some great win. The fact that Jackson potentially came with a higher cap charge than Johnson made things even worse.
While I’ve grown more sensitive to the behind-the-scenes issues with Johnson since the trade, I still didn’t celebrate it. Johnson is a very talented player, albeit flawed, and the wide receiver room is a shambles outside of George Pickens.
But Jackson is an experienced starting cornerback who should play better this year in the Steelers’ scheme with their pass rush and another year removed from major injury. And netting about $4 million extra in cap space is a big win, too. They can add another valuable piece for that real estate, like a starting center or another wide receiver.
Sell:
Talent trumps all, and the Steelers lost more talent than they gained in trading Johnson, plain and simple. Van Jefferson is not going to step in and make plays. Calvin Austin III isn’t likely to develop into any more than a role player. And TE Pat Freiermuth is now only going to have a harder time getting open with more eyes on him.
You can argue that they have more cap space to work with to sign other players, but they didn’t need it. They still have plenty of other moves they can make to add cap space when needed. They haven’t even touched Cameron Heyward’s contract yet, and that still feels inevitable at some point.
As far as Jackson goes, even before his injury he never rose above talented but average and prone to mistakes. Soon Steelers fans are going to have the same reaction to him as they had to Ahkello Witherspoon in his second season here. He’s not the guy you want him to be; it’s not enough that he’s just not Diontae Johnson.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they likely need a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
