It was somewhat of a surprise that the Pittsburgh Steelers traded wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers earlier this offseason. The move left a hole in their wide receiver room, one that hasn’t really been filled yet. But the Steelers weren’t happy with Johnson’s attitude, and Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said on Press Coverage on SiriusXM NFL Radio that the team traded him because he made too many “youthful mistakes.”
“That’s why they traded Diontae Johnson. He was an older guy, but he was still making a lot of youthful mistakes and not always acting his age or what was best for that receiver room,” Fittipaldo said about the Steelers wanting to cut down on drama in their receiver room.
He also added that Johnson was a “big issue” in the locker room.
That checks out with what Gerry Dulac said right after the Steelers traded Johnson about the team being tired of the headaches he brought. Johnson was the longest-tenured Steeler in the receiver room last season, and it’s clear the team wasn’t happy with how he acted as a leader. George Pickens had some attitude-related issues after a poor blocking effort in Week 15 against the Indianapolis Colts, which came on the heels of Johnson not showing any effort to recover a fumble in Week 12 against the Bengals.
Diontae Johnson also got into an altercation with Minkah Fitzpatrick in the locker room after the team’s Week 11 loss against the Cleveland Browns last season. For the good of the team and the locker room, the Steelers clearly felt like they had to move on. While it may hurt the on-field product, as Johnson is still a talented receiver and a gifted route-runner, keeping team chemistry right is important. Johnson’s influence may not have been the best for Pickens as he tries to develop into a top receiver in the league.
With Johnson now in Carolina, the Steelers have a hodge podge of receivers competing for the No. 2 receiver job, including rookie Roman Wilson, third-year wideout Calvin Austin III, and free agent addition Van Jefferson. Wilson said that Austin is taking on a leadership role in the room, and that’s really good to see someone step up. Additionally, new wide receivers’ coach Zach Azzanni isn’t going to let guys get away with having a bad attitude, so the room as a whole should be changed for the better.
While it took losing a talented player in Diontae Johnson, it’s worth it to keep the locker room positive. Getting rid of someone who seemed to be a negative influence in the room is always going to work out for the better.
