The contract details for former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson’s new deal with the Cleveland Browns were revealed on Tuesday.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the new contract is at the veteran minimum. Johnson will earn $1.17 million with no guaranteed money, and so he is not even guaranteed to make the team’s final roster. Johnson, 28, is a player with proven production potential, but he has to work out concerns off the field.
Johnson is coming off a whirlwind 2024 season, during which he played for three different teams: the Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, and Baltimore Ravens.
The Texans cut Johnson after an outburst in the locker room following the team’s playoff win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Johnson was not happy with his usage.
A similar story happened to Johnson while he was with the Ravens. Not happy with his usage or targets, Johnson refused to enter a game after being told to do so and was subsequently suspended and later released for conduct detrimental to the team.
Before that, the Panthers, who traded him to the Ravens, had not been happy with his locker room presence throughout the 2024 season, prompting their urgency to move on.
The Steelers had similar complaints when they moved him during the 2024 offseason to the Panthers in exchange for cornerback Donte Jackson.
Johnson was drafted by the team in the 2019 NFL Draft and spent five seasons with the Steelers before they traded him to the Panthers. He was in the last year of a two-year contract this year.
