OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The future of wide receiver Diontae Johnson with the Baltimore Ravens is unclear after the team announced on Monday that they had mutually agreed to excuse the veteran receiver from team activities this week.
Johnson had completed a one-game suspension last week and was eligible to return. The Ravens imposed the suspension after Johnson refused to participate in their Dec. 1 game, a 24-19 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
When asked if Johnson would return to the team next week, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said, “Right now, all I’m focused on is preparing for Pittsburgh. He won’t be here this week, and we’ll see what happens next week.”
The Ravens will face Johnson’s former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, on Saturday in a crucial AFC North matchup. A win for Baltimore (9-5) would tie them with Pittsburgh (10-4) for first place in the division, while a loss would allow the Steelers to clinch the AFC North title on their home turf.
The trade for Johnson, which occurred on October 29 when the Ravens acquired him and a sixth-round pick from the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a fifth-round pick, has become one of the more puzzling moves in team history. At the time of the trade, Johnson was the Panthers’ leading receiver, but since joining the Ravens, he has made just one catch for 6 yards.
In his four games with Baltimore, Johnson played 39 snaps, behind Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and Nelson Agholor in the depth chart. He was active for the Dec. 1 game against the Eagles but did not play, according to Ravens GM Eric DeCosta.
Harbaugh declined to elaborate on why the team chose to excuse Johnson instead of releasing him. “There are a lot of factors involved,” Harbaugh said. “There are front-office reasons for decisions like these, and I don’t want to get into all of Eric’s calculations. My focus is on preparing for Pittsburgh and the players who are here for that game.”
If Johnson were waived, he could join another AFC team that the Ravens might face in the playoffs. Despite his absence, quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Ravens continue to rank among the top passing offenses in the league, with Jackson ranking fifth in the NFL with 3,580 passing yards and second with 34 touchdown passes.
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