Diontae Johnson is looking for a fresh start after a tumultuous 2024, and Cleveland is the only place for him. Literally. Speaking to reporters this past week, he acknowledged that the Browns were the only team to call him. Considering how last season unfolded, that is not a shock.
“Last year was last year, and I’m trying to change that narrative and move the right way and keep going,” Johnson told reporters during Browns minicamp. “It’s one bad year. One year. I had five great seasons in Pittsburgh. One year, that don’t define me as a player, my character, none of that. Like I said, everybody’s gonna say what they want to say about me. But I know who I am as a person deep down, and that’s all that matters to me.”
The Steelers selected Diontae Johnson in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. While he played five seasons here, they weren’t all great. On the whole, he was a quality starter. But while there is a reason the Panthers traded for him in March 2024, there is also a reason the Steelers traded him.
In dumping Johnson, the Steelers did get one decent season out of CB Donte Jackson, who intercepted five passes. But neither player is with the team that traded for them at this point. In fact, Johnson is on his fourth team since, in five stops.
The Panthers, too, grew tired of Diontae Johnson, trading him to the Ravens. In Baltimore, he caught one pass for six yards. On his lone catch, he failed to get out of bounds at the end of the first half of a game. Eventually, his frustration mounted and he grew insubordinate, prompting his release.
The Houston Texans claimed Johnson off waivers, for whom he caught all of two passes. He did see snaps in Houston’s lone postseason game. But then they waived him, and the Ravens claimed him, bringing him back. They had no intention of doing business with him. They merely hoped some team would sign him as a free agent and they could earn a compensatory draft pick.
The Browns eventually signed Diontae Johnson in late April, where he has been working to improve his image—when it fits. He didn’t attend OTAs, but, as is required, he showed up to minicamp. He also gave the media seven minutes of his time along the way.
“Prove everybody wrong, that’s my mindset,” Johnson said. “Keep going. Don’t worry about the outside noise. Worry about what goes on between these gates.”
He also mentioned being on time, doing what he’s told, and being “a great teammate.”
But first, Johnson has to make the Browns’ roster, while they figure out who their quarterback is. Although Johnson mentioned Kenny Pickett as kind of a reason for signing, he didn’t sound like he felt that strongly about it. After all, he admitted the Browns were the only team that called him.
