In five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, wide receiver Diontae Johnson caught 391 passes for 4,363 yards and 25 touchdowns, and made a Pro Bowl in 2021. Still, Pittsburgh made the decision to trade him during the 2024 offseason. Not many people outside of the Steelers organization understood why the team would move the productive receiver, but they soon found out.
Johnson had a disastrous season in 2024, spending time with three different teams. He caught 33 passes for 375 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games, but wide receiver-needy teams kept moving on from him, indicating that things weren’t working out.
It now seems like that’s about to happen again with Johnson and a team in the AFC North.
The veteran receiver signed with the Cleveland Browns this offseason, but things don’t seem to be going all that well as of late. In a recent CBS Sports piece, naming 14 veterans in danger of being cut, Jeff Kerr named Johnson as one of the options. Of course, no one in Pittsburgh is surprised.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson is in danger of being cut by the Cleveland Browns
Johnson’s time in Cleveland started out good, with him looking like the most talented receiver on the roster outside of Jerry Jeudy. However, as Kerr detailed, he has hit a few speed bumps in the last couple of weeks of camp, and that could result in him being cut.
"Johnson struggled in joint practices with the Eagles, a victim of several drops during the week. he also had a bad route in Saturday's preseason game which led to Andrew Mukuba's pick-six for the Eagles.Jeff Kerr (CBS Sports)
Johnson can still run routes well at 29 years old, but the Browns may want to go with a younger option who can develop. He'll be on the roster bubble."
As Kerr explains, Johnson still flashes the skills that made him a Pro Bowl receiver back in 2021; it’s just a matter of consistency and doing everything right. On a team like the Browns, who are considering carrying four quarterbacks on the active roster, Johnson may not be able to hang around until he gets things right.
That means the veteran receiver needs to dominate the next week of camp and the final preseason game, or he’ll be looking for his fifth team since being traded by the Steelers in 2024.