The Pittsburgh Steelers have a long history of problematic wide receivers. George Pickens is the most recent example. While he wasn’t as bad as some other receivers the Steelers have dealt with, his attitude was a problem. He could be following in the footsteps of Diontae Johnson, his former teammate in Pittsburgh. Since the Steelers traded him last year, Johnson’s career has been on a downward spiral. That includes getting suspended and then cut by the Baltimore Ravens. Recently, Johnson opened up about what went wrong in Baltimore.
“Baltimore, that was a tough situation for me,” Johnson said on the YouTube channel Sport and Suits. “I love the players, I love the organization, but it wasn’t for me. Going in, I checked out mentally. I just felt like I wasn’t getting used, I don’t wanna say used as being selfish, just feeling a part of the team. I just checked out.”
From 2019-23, Johnson was a productive player with the Steelers. While he had his issues, he was relatively successful. However, they traded him to the Carolina Panthers last offseason, and he didn’t have the same impact there. In seven games, he put up 30 catches for 357 yards and three touchdowns.
During the season, Johnson was traded to the Ravens, and things really started to go off the rails for him. He played in four games there, including one start, but he only recorded one catch for six yards. It was a disaster.
It sounds like Johnson just didn’t fit with the Ravens. However, he didn’t help himself when he refused to enter the Ravens’ Week 13 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Baltimore lost that game, and it seriously fractured Johnson’s relationship with the team.
He elaborated on why he didn’t enter that game.
“I wasn’t getting into no run plays, no pass plays, no nothing. It was cold, so I’m on the sideline, just standing there, going to the heater, back and forth, waiting to hear my name called,” Johnson said. “End of the third, going into the fourth, they’re like, ‘Tae, we need you.’
“To me, I’m thinking, ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea for me.’ I was thinking about my legs. I don’t want to go out there and put bad things on film. It’s not like I didn’t want to go in the game. I told them I wasn’t going in.”
That situation wasn’t a good look for Johnson, and his explanation doesn’t help his case much, either. He said he was waiting to hear his name called, but when it was, he was worried about looking bad on film. That doesn’t make him sound like a team player.
That decision resulted in the Ravens suspending Johnson for a week. After that, they waived him, but his year didn’t improve after that. The Houston Texans picked him up, but he only appeared in one game there, catching two passes for 12 yards. Johnson’s year continued to go poorly, while the Ravens looked like one of the best teams in the NFL.
Now, Johnson is with the Cleveland Browns, and this might be his last chance in the NFL. Despite being a free agent this offseason, Johnson wasn’t a hot commodity. His 2024 season seriously hurt his value. However, he has an opportunity to change the narrative around him. Johnson used to be a good player, but he can’t be the Ravens version of himself anymore.
