When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded Diontae Johnson in March, they didn’t expect to see him in November. Having traded him to the Carolina Panthers during the offseason, the Panthers just dealt him to the Baltimore Ravens. Johnson will make his return to Acrisure Stadium on Nov. 17 before playing the Steelers again on Dec. 21.
It’s not often that two teams trade the same player in one offseason, but it does happen on occasion. When it does, however, it’s never a good sign. That appears to be the case for Johnson, whose relationships in Carolina reportedly soured.
“This is a relationship that was a failure to launch”, Jonathan Jones reported. “The [Panthers] thought he was gonna help out Bryce Young. Two weeks into the season, things were not going well. Between Diontae Johnson and the team, between Bryce Young and the team. Then you bench Bryce Young, Diontae Johnson has a baller game against the Las Vegas Raiders, and everyone seems happy at that point. And then things continue to go back to the way that they were”.
The Steelers dealt Johnson to the Panthers in exchange for CB Donte Jackson, a quality starter. As part of the trade, they also received the 178th overall pick in exchange for pick 240. Yet all the Panthers got for Johnson to the Ravens was a fifth-round pick in exchange for a sixth.
“Communication issues was how it was described to me”, Jones said of why the Panthers traded so low on Diontae Johnson. “The return on this trade indicates that the rest of the league knew that Diontae Johnson was not going to be a Carolina Panther very long. I know that there were teams that were interested a couple weeks ago”.
He added that the Panthers initially sought a Day 2 draft pick for Johnson, but it is obvious by the return they got that the rest of the league knew they could get him cheaper. The Steelers also got QB Justin Fields cheaply this offseason because everybody knew Chicago was parting ways with him.
In seven games with the Panthers, Diontae Johnson caught 30 passes on 58 targets for 357 yards. He did score three touchdowns and had some good games. In his penultimate game, he caught six passes for 78 yards and a score.
Interestingly, the Baltimore Ravens don’t have a screaming need for Johnson’s services. They already have Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman as their starting receivers with Nelson Agholor as a third option. Plus, they utilize tight ends Mark Andrew and Isiaah Likely heavily in the passing game while RB Justice Hill also receives a healthy amount of targets.
In Diontae Johnson, however, the Ravens are giving Lamar Jackson the most dependable route runner he has ever had. That might help him avoid more sacks if he knows that he always has a guy who is getting open. How much he plays for them, however, and how soon, remains to be seen. You know they will want Johnson to make a mark against the Steelers when they play Pittsburgh. And he will want to as well.
