The Ravens were among the teams which made a receiver addition ahead of the trade deadline, acquiring Diontae Johnson from the Panthers. The sixth-year veteran was happy to move on from Carolina after less than one campaign with the team, but it remains to be seen how long he will remain in Baltimore. 
Johnson had a number of receivers ahead of him on the WR depth chart upon arrival with the Ravens. Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman have operated as starters, while Nelson Agholor and Tylan Wallace have been more involved than Johnson over the past several games. In five games since joining Baltimore, the former Steelers Pro Bowler has only managed one catch on five targets with no uptick in usage in sight.
“At this time, I’m going to have to wait just to clarify it,” head coach John Harbaugh said when asked about Johnson’s future (via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley). “There’s some moving parts there that we’re going to have to figure out and explore and just see where we’re at. I know that’s not the answer you want, but that’s the best I can do in fairness to everybody right now.”
Johnson dressed for the Ravens’ Week 13 loss to the Eagles, but even with Bateman suffering a knee injury he did not log a snap during the game. The 28-year-old represented a low-cost rental since he is a pending free agent and the Panthers retained most of his remaining 2024 salary to pull off the deal. Expectations were therefore low from the beginning, but Johnson’s lack of usage coupled with Harbaugh’s remarks have led to questions about his Baltimore tenure ending even before the regular season concludes.
Bateman’s knee injury is not believed to be serious, and with the Ravens on their bye in Week 14 he may be recovered in time for the team’s next game. Provided he and Flowers remain healthy, Johnson will be set to continue as a complementary option on an offense which also relies on tight end Mark Andrews in the passing game and Derrick Henry on the ground. As Baltimore considers roster moves over the coming days, it will be interesting to see if more clarity emerges in Johnson’s case.
He’s done for. If anyone needs a wr boost it’s teams like chargers saints & Niners
But… but… so many people said that “only getting Donte Jackson from Carolina for Diontae was such a ripoff!
I mean maybe??
Johnson has still been better than Jackson this year and Pittsburgh has still felt like it was missing a receiver most of the year. Just because Baltimore is barely playing him doesn’t mean he couldn’t help somewhere.
Yeah, that’s not correct. At all.
Who?
Yeah. The same folks who continually carped that “Russ is finished”. A lot of armchair GMs out there
In Diontae’s case, I get the feeling that having endured AB, Martavis, Claypool and even JuJu, Tomlin said enough was enough.
Even though “technically ” still in a playoff hunt, the Saints best thing IMHO, is to see what they have in the players on the roster. At this point, with possibly only winnable games left against the Giants and Raiders, I’m not even against the idea of seeing what Rattler and Haener can offer, and let Carr either teach, go on early vacation or be relegated to 3rd QB. He may bring you a 4th-7th round pick in the draft if lucky, or just take the sunk cost and let him go. There’s no money in NOLA anyway, so you’re not going to sign top FA. Ease into the rebuild, you will have the luxury of playing in a weak division, and playing a 3rd or 4th place schedule.
Still a head scratching trade. They only traded like 5 spots down in the draft to get him correct? And then don’t intend to use him…Playing keep away maybe but from who? Steelers weren’t going to get him.
Yeah, couple that with the Steelers trade for Mike Williams and it’s double the mystery for one price
@braveshomer; it is a “head scratcher” trade. With Bateman down (shocker), thought for sure he’d be heavy in the mix. Even that Wallace cat seems to be in front of him.
He will be on a team next year, easily.
He drops passes. Refuses to block. Gives up on plays. Pouts and starts locker room trouble. I get that teams will overlook such things where talent is concerned, but this guy isn’t the second coming of AB
Damn I feel he’s still a good WR. I feel like he would be worth 12.5-15 million in the right spot as WR 2
Texans should pursue him in the off season as a buy low candidate.
They weren’t throwing to him, unlike Agholor …
Maybe it’s time to stop trading for Steelers’ WRs? First Claypool, now this guy. Lol
The Steelers know when to cut bait. They get the best years of these guys but they tend to be head cases and with Johnson, he has bad hands to boot.
You could add Santonio Holmes, Martavis Bryant and of course Antonio Brown to those who were shipped out
Mike Wallace FTW!
Maybe the value on the field does not equal the drama off the field. Steelers dumped him to Carolina then they dealt with his ego for a short while and found the next sucker to invest in him. He may play himself out of the league.
The Ravens are either saving him for the playoff run or waiting on injury, which has now happened to Bateman. You have to give Agholor credit for holding him off.