Former Pittsburgh Steelers executive Doug Whaley understands the team trading wide receiver Diontae Johnson. He just wishes the team would’ve shown more patience before making a final decision. Appearing on 93.7 The Fan Wednesday morning, Whaley said he thinks Johnson was dealt too soon.
“That was one of those where that move backed them in the corner,” Whaley told The Fan. “And it didn’t set them up for the next move.”
Rumors of Johnson possibly being dealt emerged exiting the NFL Scouting Combine. Less than two weeks later on March 12, Pittsburgh shipped him to Carolina. The Steelers sent Johnson and a seventh-round pick to the Carolina Panthers for CB Donte Jackson and a sixth-round pick. Like Johnson, Jackson had fallen out of favor in Carolina and was reportedly going to be cut if the team couldn’t trade him.
Pittsburgh’s yet to find a true replacement for Diontae Johnson, spending the offseason collecting a trio of veteran receivers in Quez Watkins, Van Jefferson, and Scotty Miller, while drafting Michigan’s Roman Wilson in the third round. Like Johnson, Wilson is an impressive route runner, but he lacks the outside experience and skill set Johnson had at the ‘X’ position.
Whaley thinks the Steelers should’ve given Johnson a chance with this new-look offense.
“Bring him into the offseason and see how he adapts and really jells with the new quarterbacks, the new OC. Maybe he turns it around like…’Now maybe I’m not gonna be as such a malcontent. Maybe I’m gonna be happy, man,'” Whaley said, believing Johnson would’ve been a better teammate with a stronger supporting cast.
What Whaley and the conversation are missing is the financial aspect. Johnson had a $3 million roster bonus due on March 16. Had he been on the roster past that point, Pittsburgh would’ve had to pay him the money. Meaning trading him after that deadline would’ve burned $3 million for no benefit. The Steelers weren’t incredibly strapped for cash or cap but it’s still a financially unwise move and the reason Johnson was dealt before that bonus came due.
Perhaps Whaley is right and Diontae Johnson would’ve been in a better place. Or maybe he wouldn’t have been. Pittsburgh understandably didn’t want to take that gamble and moved Johnson before having to pay his bonus. Right or wrong, at least the team made a decisive decision.
While that explains the timing, it doesn’t completely justify the trade. Johnson is a better wide receiver than Jackson is a corner, and the pick swap was only a minor “win” on the Steelers’ end. Even if Pittsburgh felt trading Johnson was the best thing for the team, failing to find a clear replacement for him remains an issue. Perhaps the team will land a big fish in a late-summer trade. Or maybe Arthur Smith’s offense, as it’s done before, can win with just one true wide receiver seeing significant targets.
Until the Steelers can prove either of those things, trading Johnson wasn’t the highlight of Omar Khan’s offseason. The timing of the deal, however, isn’t the problem.
