The term “revenge game” is perhaps a little overused in sports these days, but it seems appropriate for Diontae Johnson’s upcoming Week 11 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers traded him to the Carolina Panthers for Donte Jackson and a late-round pick swap, but the Panthers have since traded him to an AFC North rival. He will now be catching passes from Lamar Jackson as a member of the Baltimore Ravens.
There have been many theories surrounding the motives behind trading Diontae Johnson, and many of them paint him in a negative light with the Steelers souring on his attitude. There was reportedly a verbal altercation with teammates and coaches following a loss to the Cleveland Browns last year, and of course there was the lack of effort after a Jaylen Warren fumble last year.
Steelers CB Donte Jackson, who was involved in the Johnson trade, thinks they will be getting a little extra juice from him when they see him in a few weeks.
“It’s obviously gonna be competitive matches,” Jackson said in a video posted by 93.7 The Fan on X. “He’s gonna definitely have a little bit more gas in the tank coming back playing against the Steelers.”
Johnson pushed back on narratives that he is a locker room issue while he was with the Panthers. He more or less said that he is misunderstood. There is no doubt in my mind that he wants to light the Steelers up after a bit of a tough breakup.
Johnson has been a second-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowler in the past, and is known as one of the best route runners in the league. He joins Zay Flowers to form a pretty formidable duo along with some of their other weapons like Rashod Bateman, Isaiah Likely, Derrick Henry, and Mark Andrews in Baltimore. He joins one of the best offenses in the league after spending much of his career on an abysmal offense in Pittsburgh, and an even worse one in Carolina.
In seven games this season, Johnson has 30 receptions on 58 targets for 357 yards and three touchdowns. The Steelers have been having Joey Porter Jr. follow No. 1 receivers around less often this season with Donte Jackson more than capable on the other side.
That means we will almost certainly get some reps of Jackson versus Johnson. It seems like the Steelers have won that trade through the first eight weeks of the season, but a head-to-head matchup could paint a different picture.
