Wide receiver Diontae Johnson seemed to be looking at a successful career in the NFL when the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted him in the third round in 2019.
He worked his way up to the WR1 spot. While Johnson had some hiccups along the way, he showed his mettle by putting in the extra work. Over time, the relationship between him and the franchise began to sour.
Johnson was traded to the Carolina Panthers and then the Baltimore Ravens. Unfortunately, his attitude became increasingly bizarre, prompting a significant amount of negative feedback from fans and the media.
Cold Excuses, Hot Seats: Diontae Johnson’s NFL Career on the Line After Ravens Fallout
On a recent episode of “Nightcap,” a podcast hosted by former NFL players Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson, they were joined by wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh and tight end Darren Waller.
Both Houshmandzadeh and Waller played for Ravens head coach John Harbaugh in Baltimore during their career. Houshmandzadeh also played for the Cincinnati Bengals during his NFL career.
Johnson, who is now with the Cleveland Browns, recently shared that his time with the Ravens was tough, saying he was “checked out.” A common theme in Johnson’s recent struggles is that he fails to do anything to help himself.
Houshmandzadeh said Johnson refusing to play in the Ravens’ Week 13 game against the Philadelphia Eagles was mind-blowing. “I would never do something like this,” he told Sharpe and Chad Johnson. “It’s crazy.”
“I played in Baltimore with [John] Harbaugh, if you can’t play for Harbaugh, it’s a problem because Harbaugh, he just wants you to work hard, which every coach does, but he ain’t giving you no problems,” Houshmandzadeh said
Houshmandzadeh recapped Johnson’s recent comments, in which Johnson stated that his name wasn’t being called and it was cold. He was doing what he could, but he didn’t want to go in and get hurt or create bad film of himself.
Baltimore released him after he refused to play. “I was sitting there like, you said it was cold, right?” Houshmandzadeh said. “We done played in some cold a** games. Then, when you look at the temperature, it wasn’t hot, bro, it was 41 degrees. He acted like it was -20.”
Waller said he understands not wanting to get hurt, but noted that he played special teams at times. So Johnson had even fewer plays than a wide receiver, and he had to do sprints and skips, whatever was required to stay warm.
“That bench is hotter than a motherf*****,” Waller said, “so if it was truly cold, he could either sit there or stand by the heaters to ensure he stayed warm.” Houshmandzadeh agreed, saying the bench gets so hot you can’t stay on it too long.
Waller feels like this year with the Browns might be it for Johnson if he doesn’t change.
“He literally is on his last leg,” Waller said. “This is going to be his last chance. Ain’t nobody want him on their team when you doing that, and he’s so talented. But he’s gonna mess around and get put out of the league and watch TV saying, ‘F*** man, I’m better than him’ and he’s gonna regret it.”
Johnson and the Browns agreed to a one-year contract for $1.17 million. That is substantially less than the two-year extension Pittsburgh gave him in 2022, which was at $36.71 million. Houshmandzadeh may be right about this being Johnson’s last shot.
