Diontae Johnson: Injured Hip ‘Feels Good’, Will Test on Sunday

PITTSBURGH — Diontae Johnson has a new hip injury, and it has been a nagging issue for the Steelers wide receiver all week. He started out with limited practice, but fell down to not practicing at all on Thursday. However, Johnson did return to the field on Friday, and while the hip is still bothersome, it feels good enough to where Johnson will try to give it a go if possible.

“I’m feeling good,” Johnson said. “I’ll see how it feels when I’m warming up. It feels good, and I’m for sure gonna try to do everything I can to play. I don’t want to overreact when I stride. It’s about me feeling comfortable.”

It happened at some point near the end of the game against Atlanta. In fact, the adrenaline was still pumping, so Johnson did not even recognize the injury until Monday. But the hip flared up on him and has kept Johnson out of some practices. For Johnson, it is about pain management and stiffness in the hip that could impact his confidence against Baltimore.

“I think it happened on the last catch I had when I tried to get the first down,” Johnson said. “Two people hit me from each side. I’m just trying to test through it.”

Diontae Johnson has been around the block with injuries before, so the week of limited practice time still affords him the opportunity to play given he is a veteran. If the Steelers are without Johnson, Miles Boykin, Gunner Olszewski, and Steven Sims would all see more playing time while George Pickens would be elevated to the top receiver in the room.

Johnson is listed as questionable for Sunday.