The Baltimore Ravens and Diontae Johnson have mutually agreed to excuse the wide receiver from team activities this week, the franchise announced Monday.
This comes after Johnson was suspended for the team’s Week 15 win over the New York Giants for refusing to take the field in the Ravens’ Week 13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Baltimore had its bye week in Week 14.
Statement from the Baltimore Ravens. pic.twitter.com/sg9seXfJMc
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 16, 2024
“All I’m really thinking about right now is Pittsburgh and getting our team ready for Pittsburgh,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “He won’t be here this week and next week will take care of itself.”
The Ravens host the Steelers in a pivotal AFC North showdown on Saturday. Baltimore (9-5) is one game back of Pittsburgh (10-4) for the division lead.
When asked why Johnson wasn’t released, Harbaugh was a bit vague.
“There are reasons for doing things, front office type reasons,” Harbaugh said. “I want to think about Pittsburgh and the guys who are going to be here getting ready to play Pittsburgh. That’s my focus 100 percent.”
GO DEEPER
Ravens suspend Diontae Johnson after refusing to take field vs. Eagles
Johnson was acquired along with a 2025 sixth-round pick from the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a 2025 fifth-rounder at the trade deadline, putting Johnson on his third team since March. Through the first four weeks with Baltimore, Johnson has played just 39 offensive snaps, catching one pass on five targets for 6 yards. Before his acquisition by the Ravens, Johnson had 30 receptions for 357 yards and three touchdowns with the Panthers while posting the third-lowest yards per target (6.2) of his career.
Prior to his stint with the Panthers, Johnson spent five seasons with the Steelers. He posted a career-high 107 receptions in his Pro Bowl season of 2021. The 28-year-old wideout is set to be a free agent at the end of the season.
What comes next for both sides?
For the Ravens, it sure seems like a situation where they are essentially paying Johnson to stay away from the team. The last thing they’d want during a crucial stretch of the season — they trail the Steelers by one game in the AFC North and a win Saturday would create a first-place tie and clinch at least a wild-card spot — is to bring a potential distraction into the building.
Baltimore has had one of top offenses in the league without Johnson and wide receiver certainly hasn’t been a need. Johnson was essentially brought in to provide depth, but if he’s unhappy with the role and he lost trust in the locker room, there doesn’t seem to be a path forward for the two sides. Maybe, the Ravens don’t want to give him an opportunity to latch onto a contender or maybe they don’t want to set the precedence that they’ll let guys loose any time they’re unhappy. Either way, it sounds more a matter of when not if the two sides part ways. — Jeff Zrebiec, Ravens beat writer
Required reading
(Photo: Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
