Stay or go: Projecting the Steelers top upcoming 2023 free agents

Diontae Johnson will have a great season and get a long-term contract elsewhere

Diontae Johnson is currently an unknown situation right now for the Steelers and their future together. The receiver market has been leaning towards the player when it comes to contract demands recently. That could spell disaster when it comes to these two agreeing to a new deal.

The club has been adding some youth to the position and has a lot of depth there right now. There are some quiet rumblings that maybe a trade could occur if Pittsburgh got an offer that they could not refuse. That still seems unlikely, and Johnson has not shown any signs of holding out for a new contract.

He is a hard worker and has been the best receiver for this offense over the last couple of seasons. He does deserve a contract, but the Steelers will not budge in their negotiations. They will need to see a full year of consistent production from this player as a true number one target before they even consider shelling out the money he wants.

Another possibility that could happen if Johnson has a great 2022 season, is the black and gold could tag him. He would be the top receiver on the market, and they could always franchise tag him to keep him for another year if they are not comfortable going forward with someone else. It does seem like no matter if he gets tagged or not, his long-term future will be with another franchise at some point.

The Steelers will have some big decisions to make when the offseason rolls around. They will have a lot of cap space with many of their own free agents needing new deals.