Days after head coach John Harbaugh declined to comment on the status of Diontae Johnson, the Ravens have suspended the wide receiver one game for “conduct detrimental to the team.”
Questions stemmed from Johnson not playing in Sunday’s 24-19 loss to Philadelphia despite starting wide receiver Rashod Bateman exiting the game in the second half with a knee injury. According to the Ravens, it’s because the 28-year-old Johnson refused to play, which continues a tumultuous run with Baltimore that’s included little playing time or impact since he was acquired from Carolina before the trade deadline.
“We have made the difficult decision to suspend Diontae Johnson for our upcoming game against the New York Giants for conduct detrimental to the team,” general manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement. “Diontae’s suspension stems from refusing to enter our game against the Philadelphia Eagles. We will have no further comments on this matter going forward.”
With the Ravens currently on their bye week, the 5-foot-10, 183-pound wideout won’t be eligible to play again until the Dec. 21 tilt with his former team — the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Over his first four games with the Ravens, Johnson played a total of just 39 snaps, making one catch for six yards on five targets. It’s hardly a secret that the 2021 Pro Bowl selection — who’s in a contract year — hasn’t been pleased with his lack of involvement, but the Ravens’ top-ranked offense was already challenged finding enough touches for their skill players before DeCosta traded a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Panthers for Johnson and a 2025 sixth-round selection on Oct. 29.
“We’re going to continue to try and find ways to get him on the field, but we haven’t really lost anybody. We’re doing pretty good with the guys we’ve got,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken said in mid-November. “I understand he wants to play. I get it. … We’d want all of our players to want to get on the field, and he just happens to be one of our really good players that we’re going to continue to try and find ways to get on the field.”
Traded by the Steelers this past offseason at least partly because of not having the best reputation, Johnson caught 30 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns in seven games with Carolina. He caught a career-high 107 passes for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns with Pittsburgh in 2021 and followed that with back-to-back seasons of at least 700 receiving yards before being traded in March.
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Given the small price the Ravens paid to acquire Johnson’s services, it’s difficult to envision this partnership lasting much longer without a swift turnaround. Baltimore would be in line to potentially receive a compensatory pick with Johnson scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but an underwhelming 2024 and this latest episode aren’t doing much to help his value.
Time is running out to change that, and a team with championship aspirations can’t justify holding on to a distraction who isn’t contributing anything on the field.
“We want him out there. He’s a great receiver,” quarterback Lamar Jackson said after Sunday’s loss. “We didn’t get him from the Panthers for nothing.”
