Pittsburgh Steelers Steelers Opponents
Ravens Excuse Ex-Steelers WR Diontae Johnson Ahead of Rematch
The Steelers are preparing for their rematch with the Ravens this week, but their division rival will be without a familiar face.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have one less playmaker to worry about in their Week 16 rematch with the Baltimore Ravens. On Monday, the Ravens announced they have excused former Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson for the week.
“We have mutually agreed with Diontae Johnson to excuse him from team activities this week,” the Ravens said in a statement.
While the news is somewhat unexpected, it also doesn’t come as a total surprise. Johnson has had a strained relationship with the Ravens since they traded for him in October.
Baltimore suspended Johnson for one game without pay for conduct detrimental to the team before the Ravens’ Week 14 bye, and as a result, missed their Week 15 win over the New York Giants.
Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta revealed that Johnson’s one-game suspension stemmed from the wide receiver refusing to enter the team’s Week 13 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Head coach John Harbaugh then doubled down on Johnson’s recent behavior, putting his future with the team very much in the air.
“At this time, I’m going to have to wait,” Harbaugh said about Johnson’s status with the team. “There are some moving parts there that we’re going to have to figure out and explore and see where we’re at. It’s the best I can do in fairness to everybody.”
It remains to be seen if the Ravens are willing to part ways with Johnson as they look primed to make another deep postseason run, but he hasn’t done much for them on the field, anyway.
Through four games, Johnson has just one catch for six yards on five targets. He had zero catches on two targets against the Steelers in Week 11.
Ahead of that matchup head coach Mike Tomlin seemed to take a dig at Johnson.
“To be honest with you, I hadn’t thought a lot about it,” he said. “He’s not on a lot of their video. So at this stage of the week, I don’t know that I’ve weighed what he might mean to the matchup. They’ve got more significant pieces with larger roles that occupy my attention at this part of the week.”
It seems like Tomlin was onto something as Johnson is now slated to miss the Steelers and Ravens second meeting of the season, which has major playoff implications.
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