The Pittsburgh Steelers were not able to claim wide receiver Diontae Johnson on waivers on Monday, as the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers, two teams with higher waiver priorities, both submitted claims for the longtime Steelers wideout.
The Texans had the best claim, landing Johnson as Houston enters the playoff picture with starting wide receiver Tank Dell out for the rest of the season after an injury on Saturday and reserve John Metchie III also dealing with a shoulder injury. Houston had previously lost Stefon Diggs to an ACL injury, making one of the league’s deepest groups of wide receivers dangerously thin.
With Houston and the Chargers both placing claims on Johnson, the Steelers did not have a chance to reunite with their former third-round draft, but it turns out that they didn’t even try.
According to a report by ESPN analyst Field Yates, the Chargers and Texans were the only teams that placed claims on Johnson after he was released by the Baltimore Ravens on Friday.
The Steelers not making a claim doesn’t mean they had no interest in brining Johnson back. The Steelers have a game to play on Wednesday, and with a large number of injuries, would have had to cut a player they will likely be depending on for a large role against the Kansas City Chiefs in order to fit Johnson onto the 53-man roster.
With the Steelers already near the bottom of the waiver priority order, it would have sense for them to see if Johnson cleared and attempt to add him to the practice squad, or put him on the 53-man roster after the Kansas City game, when the Steelers have an 11-day lead-up to their Week 18 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Or the Steelers could just have decided they’re done with Johnson, who was clearly not traded for football reasons when the Steelers shipped him off to the Carolina Panthers in March, and seems to have further damaged his reputation since then with contentious exits from two more teams.
Either way, the drama that unfolded on Monday afternoon about Johnson’s future wasn’t going to involve the Steelers no matter what.
Except, that is, for the fact that if they don’t find a way to win the AFC North over these next two games, they very well could be visiting the Texans and Johnson in the first round of the playoffs.
