The Baltimore Ravens acquired former Pittsburgh Steelers WR Diontae Johnson via trade ahead of Week 9, but in two games with Baltimore, Johnson hasn’t played much or made much of an impact. He’s made just one reception for six yards, coming at the end of half of Baltimore’s Week 10 win where Johnson failed to get out of bounds or hurry to the line, and he’s only played 22 snaps as he assimilates into Baltimore’s offense. Mike Tomlin was asked about playing Johnson this Sunday when the Ravens visit Acrisure Stadium during his weekly press conference.
“I hadn’t thought a lot about it. He’s not on a lot of their video and so at this stage of the week, I don’t know that I’ve weighed what he might mean to the matchup. They got more significant pieces with larger roles that are occupying my attention at this part of the week.” Tomlin said Tuesday via the team’s YouTube channel.
Johnson was traded to the Carolina Panthers this offseason in exchange for CB Donte Jackson and a pick swap, and Carolina moved on from Johnson after getting off to a slow start. He reportedly never meshed well with the Panthers, and their return for Johnson was lighter than expected, receiving just a fifth-round pick in exchange for Johnson and a sixth-round pick.
With the Ravens needing to bolster their receiver room next to Zay Flowers, Diontae Johnson, who had 107 receptions for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021, seemed like a good fit. But he hasn’t clicked through two games in Baltimore. While his lack of snaps is largely due to the fact that he’s new to the Ravens and he wasn’t expected to play much in Week 9, he failed to take advantage of his opportunities in Week 10. The play before the half cost Baltimore the chance at points, and he also fell down on a route in the second half.
Still, with this being Johnson’s third game with Baltimore, he’s likely going to play more than he has through the first two games, the second of which came on a short week. Ravens HC John Harbaugh said he expects Johnson’s role to “ramp up” this week in a game against his former team.
Flowers has taken a big leap in his second season in Baltimore, and with Derrick Henry and Mark Andrews weapons alongside Lamar Jackson, it makes sense that Tomlin hasn’t paid a lot of attention to what Johnson’s done with Baltimore. As Tomlin said, there’s just not a lot of tape to go off to see how he’s fit in with Baltimore, and the team has been featuring Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor a bit more in recent weeks. With other guys getting more looks, the Steelers need to be prepared for all of Baltimore’s weapons, and Diontae Johnson is also someone the team knows well from his five years in Pittsburgh.
