One of the biggest headlines this week throughout the NFL was WR Diontae Johnson’s trade to the Baltimore Ravens. Not only is Baltimore getting a good receiver to help out two-time MVP QB Lamar Jackson, but they are also getting a player who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers last year.
Johnson was a polarizing player for the Steelers fanbase, but his attitude soured the locker room towards the end of his time in Pittsburgh. In the offseason, Pittsburgh shipped him to the Carolina Panthers for CB Donte Jackson and a pick swap.
The Steelers know Diontae Johnson, and he knows the Steelers, making Week 11 and 16’s Steelers-Ravens matchups even more intense. CB Joey Porter Jr. could see plenty of him on the other side of the line of scrimmage. He’s looking forward to it.
“I feel like it amps things up a lot,” said Porter Jr. in an interview posted to Post-Gazette Sports’ YouTube page. “We got a former guy that used to play here for a lot of years and now he’s gone to their team, and just like how we got Patrick Queen who played on that team [Baltimore]. So it’s gonna be interesting. It’s gonna be fired up, and I know we’re gonna be ready for it just like they are.”
The Steelers drafted Diontae Johnson in the 2019 draft. He was a really good player during Pittsburgh’s transitional period. Johnson played with five different quarterbacks in his five seasons with Pittsburgh and caught 391 passes for 4,363 yards and 25 touchdowns. His best season came in 2021 with QB Ben Roethlisberger, when he caught 107 passes for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns, making the Pro Bowl.
As Porter mentioned, the Steelers also have a former Raven in Patrick Queen. Queen was a great player for Baltimore, which made his decision to swap Purple and Black for Black and Gold very controversial.
Steelers versus Ravens is always hotly contested and emotional, but it could crank the dial up to 11 this year. The Steelers and Ravens are fighting for the AFC North crown, and these games will have layers of storylines.
It will be fun to see if Porter is matched up against Johnson. Porter has done a great job in his young career taking away No. 1 targets, but Johnson is one of the best route runners in the game. It will also be fun to see the trash talk between Johnson and the Steelers defense, particularly S Minkah Fitzpatrick.
We only have to wait a couple of weeks for this matchup. It will certainly be a great one.
