The Pittsburgh Steelers need to make a decision soon on Diontae Johnson’s contract extension. Here are the top three options they could choose.
The NFL’s wide receiver market spiraled out of control rather quickly this offseason. Soon after former Cardinals slot receiver, Christian Kirk inked a four-year $72 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, All-Pro receiver, Davante Adams, was traded to the Raiders and signed a massive five-year, $140 million contract — paying him $28 million per season.
These moves were later followed by Mike Williams and A.J. Brown signing lucrative extensions. Washington Commanders receiver, Terry McLaurin, is the most recent to do so, and his deal (valued at $23.6 million per season) has big implications on what Diontae Johnson is going to get soon.
The Pittsburgh Steelers now have a very important decision to make. Johnson might be a top-five player on the current roster, so is he worth overpaying? I’ve talked about this a lot. In this article, I ranked my favorite decisions Steelers could make with their top wide receiver:
3. Steelers let Diontae Johnson walk in 2023 free agency
I know that this is something fans have said they would do, but letting Johnson walk in free agency following the 2022 season makes no sense to me. The Steelers struck gold on Johnson in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft, so waving goodbye with nothing in return isn’t a good option.
While it’s possible that the Steelers could receive draft compensation for his departure, that is likely to be canceled out, as Pittsburgh would in turn use the savings to sign another high-profile player in free agency.
The problem with doing this is that the 2023 free-agent class doesn’t look very strong, and it could get even weaker if a few of the top prospects re-sign with their current teams or are handed the franchise tag.
It’s much more likely that the Steelers end up with an older player in free agency at a less important position. Because of that, letting Johnson walk away without the assurance of compensation shouldn’t be an option.