Steelers Pro Bowl WR Diontae Johnson reportedly became too much of a 'headache' in Pittsburgh
While it may hurt to see him go, the truth is, WR Diontae Johnson has been on borrowed time for months now. A look into all the variables exposes why the end was always near between the two sides, regardless of what many wanted to believe. And per Gerry Dulac and Ray Fittipaldo of the […]
While it may hurt to see him go, the truth is, WR Diontae Johnson has been on borrowed time for months now.
A look into all the variables exposes why the end was always near between the two sides, regardless of what many wanted to believe.
And per Gerry Dulac and Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Pittsburgh had enough of Johnson:
Steelers Tired of the 'Headaches' with Diontae Johnson
One way or the other, they were going to move on from DJ, the incidents with his teammates – Mitch Trubisky at halftime in Week 4 in 2022; the post-game dustup with Minkah Fitzpatrick after the loss to the Browns. Steelers had enough. They just got tired of the headaches. It's like an old coach once told me – when the production outweighs the aggravation, you keep him; when the aggravation outweighs the production, you get rid of them. -Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Now, the series of events both during and after the Bengals game are well documented at this point, with Johnson giving up on a play and then just making things worse with his comments in the post-game locker room availability.
But as Dulac pointed out, that was the latest in a line of incidents, and that's just what we know about. It also turned out to be the straw that broke the camel's back:
There were conflicts in the locker room and rifts among teammates. The moment that sealed Johnson’s fate came in Cincinnati in late November, when he quit on a play after Jaylen Warren fumbled. While Connor Heyward made a touchdown-saving tackle on DJ Turner, Johnson barely moved after he watched the ball get ripped from Warren’s hands. That came one week after Johnson had a dustup with Minkah Fitzpatrick after a 13-10 loss to the Browns in Cleveland.
-Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post Gazette
So look, this isn't meant to be a bashing of Johnson. He was a great WR for the Steelers, immensely outplaying his third-round draft positioning as he earned Pro Bowl honors and a contract extension with the team.
But fans need to know why he was let go and why the exchange in capital was what it was. Johnson will have the opportunity to thrive as the best WR in Carolina, and he leaves on good terms with many of his teammates as evidenced in his thank you post on Instagram.
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