Diontae Johnson Wants Long-Term Deal, Mum on Camp Plans

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson was mum on his level of participation for training camp in 2022, but made it clear that he wants a contract extension with the team when speaking to reporters on Wednesday.

“I want to be here long term,” Johnson said. “That’s up to them. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing.”

Johnson reported to camp with the rest of the team on Tuesday, so a hold out does not seem to be in the cards, but he could take a similar tact to what T.J. Watt did last year and what Minkah Fitzpatrick did throughout OTAs and minicamp in choosing to only participate in individual drills, and avoiding potential contact.

Johnson said “we’ll see” if he will be a full participant or not and that he’s taking things one day at a time. Head coach Mike Tomlin also declined to fully answer a question about Johnson’s status when asked on Tuesday.

“I’m not proceeding with any anticipation of any of those type of things,” Tomlin said. “He was here on time and did a heck of a job at the conditioning test like everyone else so we keep moving forward.”

Johnson said he is not aware of any current updates to the negotiations, but he said he lets his agents handle things. The Steelers have been notoriously hesitant to pay big money to wide receivers, but that could change under Omar Khan.

The Steelers have opened up a can of worms, and I don’t see any way for the team to close it. …