Will former Steelers WR Diontae Johnson play a “more significant” role for the Ravens today?
During his Tuesday pre-game press conference, Steelers HC Mike Tomlin was blunt in his early-week assessment of Diontae Johnson as it relates to beginning to prepare for the Baltimore Ravens offense. In a nutshell, he said the Ravens give them a lot more things to worry about than Johnson at that point.
However, Johnson has two games and two weeks under his belt and should have some rapport with the Ravens. During his time with the Steelers, he needed time to develop chemistry with his quarterbacks, so that is not surprising. And he had to play two games in a week, featuring last Thursday. As a result, he had extra time to prepare to face the Steelers.
While I don’t buy the idea that Tomlin intended to take a shot at Diontae Johnson or get into his head, I do believe that he is a better player than his detractors give him credit for. On the surface, there’s no reason he couldn’t play and have a big impact for the Ravens against the Steelers.
Realistically, Johnson’s biggest obstacle is simply being on a good team. The fact of the matter is they don’t and haven’t needed him. The Ravens already have Zay Flowers, who does many of the same things he does. But nobody knows the Steelers in that locker room as well as Diontae Johnson does.
Let’s not forget Johnson hasn’t played with a good quarterback since 2021. Getting to play with Lamar Jackson with the Ravens, he should have better opportunities than in his last two years with the Steelers. The only trouble is actually finding the opportunities to get him on the field.
That’s why, ultimately, I don’t expect Diontae Johnson to play much for the Ravens today and, thus, to have a big impact against the Steelers. I think there’s an outside chance the Ravens will go out of their way to give him opportunities to make plays against his former team, though, and I will certainly be looking out for that. Even if they do go down that road, he still has to make plays.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is underway, following another disappointing year ending in a first-round playoff loss. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January. There are positive signs, but things could jump off the rails any moment.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Is Russell Wilson earning a lucrative new deal next year, and is Justin Fields still in consideration? How will the team continue to address the depth chart, which is surprisingly still in flux?
The regular season is here, following weeks of camp and preseason games. The Steelers made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
