Former Steelers WR Diontae Johnson did nothing with the Baltimore Ravens in his debut against his former team in Week 11. He won’t even have the opportunity to do that much in his second, as he is excused from activities this week. With the AFC North on the line, the Ravens would rather not have him around. But they also don’t want him going anywhere else—perhaps even back to Pittsburgh.
In an instance of poor timing, the Ravens issued a statement about the team and Diontae Johnson mutually agreeing to excuse him from team activities this week, shortly before HC John Harbaugh’s press conference. Naturally, reporters peppered him with questions about it as they prepared for the Steelers.
Harbaugh could only insist that the Ravens’ focus is on the Steelers this week and nothing else. He could only add that Diontae Johnson “won’t be here this week, and next week will take care of itself”, via the Ravens’ website.
The Ravens traded for Johnson ahead of the Week 9 trade deadline from the Panthers, who previously acquired him from the Steelers this offseason. He played sparingly in four games, then refused to play in Week 13. That resulted in a one-game suspension, and the odds of him ever playing as a Raven again are slim to none. But there are other motivations for not simply releasing him, as Harbaugh hinted at.
“I’m really interested in the Pittsburgh Steelers, to be honest with you”, Harbaugh said as the Ravens tried to avoid the Diontae Johnson discussion. “There’s a lot of moving parts, [and] there are reasons for doing things that are front office-type reasons. Do I want to sit here and get into all of the different calculations that [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] makes? I really don’t”.
While reporters then moved on to other topics, it’s no secret what’s going on. The Ravens are done with Diontae Johnson, but they don’t want him to potentially join another team and strengthen a contender. He seems to be in the part of the Former Steelers Story Arc where he realizes he made a mistake. He even claims that Mike Tomlin said he missed him. Obviously, the Ravens don’t want to face Johnson this week.
And the Steelers are dealing with an injury to George Pickens, so if there were ever a time that they would consider even a brief reunion with Diontae Johnson, it would have been now. But it’s not just about the Steelers by any means. The Ravens also don’t want to risk him going to the Chiefs, or any other team they might see in the playoffs.
Beyond that, the Ravens may even be thinking about free agency. They can keep suspending him and ensure that he doesn’t ever play for them, but they could still hold onto his rights, thereby potentially recouping a compensatory pick if he signs a qualifying deal in free agency.
