NFL insider Tony Pauline reported last week that the Pittsburgh Steelers were open to trading wide receiver Diontae Johnson, and The Athletic’s Dianna Russini is hearing the same thing.
Russini tweeted on Saturday that the Steelers are open to listening to offers on Johnson, and there’s interest around the league with free agency set to officially open on Wednesday.
Pittsburgh likely isn’t trading Johnson unless they can get at least a third-round pick in return, and they’ll likely shoot for a second. The Steelers did meet with several top receivers at the 2024 NFL Combine, signaling an interest in drafting the position early. But with other needs to fill, it didn’t seem like a move that would make sense. But, a trade of Johnson would create a big hole at receiver next to George Pickens, who is coming off a 1,140-yard season in his second year in the league.
Johnson has just one year left on his contract, and the Steelers might look to get something for him now instead of losing him in free agency and, at best, getting a comp pick back. Johnson signed a two-year extension following his breakout 2021 season, but he hasn’t been able to match that production in either of the last two years. He also dealt with a hamstring injury that caused him to miss four games in 2023.
We’ll see if Pittsburgh ends up trading Johnson in the next week, as he has a $3 million roster bonus due on March 16. The Steelers are unlikely to pay him that bonus and then turn around and trade him, so any potential trade would come this week. That would also allow the Steelers to potentially explore the free-agent receiver market to look for a potential Johnson replacement, as well.
If the interest in Johnson is legitimate enough for a team to part with a Day 2 selection, Johnson could be wearing another uniform for the first time in his career. A former third-round pick out of Toledo, he’s spent the first five years of his career with the Steelers and made the Pro Bowl in 2021. It wouldn’t be the first time that general manager Omar Khan moved a receiver via trade either, as the Steelers shipped Chase Claypool off to the Chicago Bears at the trade deadline in 2022 in exchange for a second-round pick that turned into cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
With free agency and the potential of Russell Wilson signing with Pittsburgh, this Diontae Johnson trade news adds something else for us to watch in what is sure to be an incredibly busy week for the Steelers.
