Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin is a fan of saying the team wants "volunteers, not hostages." Often called a players coach, many felt that Tomlin and the Steelers were all talk as they kept players who verbalized their unhappiness or displayed immature behaviors. Tomlin and the franchise have been criticized for allowing players with toxic behaviors to hang around.
This is especially true of the team's wide receivers. From Antonio Brown's early social media antics to JuJu Smith-Schuster dancing on opponents' logos, the receivers have frustrated fans and the media. While the Steelers let both Brown and Smith-Schuster depart the team, they seemed to speed up their effort to improve attitudes after the 2023 season with Diontae Johnson. One thing is quite clear: teams are willing to put up with a lot more if the player in question has talent nearing Brown's level. While Johnson was solid, he wasn't the same caliber as Brown.
The Steelers decided to trade Johnson to the Carolina Panthers for Donte Jackson after he became labeled a malcontent. It is impossible to ignore the immature behaviors Johnson displayed. He nearly came to blows with teammate Minkah Fitzpatrick and had to be separated. He appeared to be lazy on the field and was criticized for throwing temper tantrums over his lack of targets. There were concerns that his negative behaviors sparked similar tendencies in his younger teammate, George Pickens.
Now, with the Panthers, Johnson is hoping to show fans that he was not the issue. In Pittsburgh, he blamed everyone from the coordinator to the quarterback for games not going his way. He told the media Monday per an X video from Sheena Quick, that he wants the Carolina fans to know he isn't that negative guy.
"I feel like people say I'm a diva, and my attitude is up and down," shared Johnson. "But sometimes players get misunderstood. Just wanna show that I'm a great player, with a great attitude, and I come with great energy every day, with a smile on my face, helping the guys get better around me."
Johnson's time in the Steel City was far from all bad. He was a significant contributor on offense. While some felt he was a "cancer" in the locker room, he was an excellent route runner. Unfortunately for him, some dropped passes got blown out of proportion. He really didn't drop many more than other top receivers in the league, but his timing was so bad, it made them stand out. It felt like Johnson always dropped the ball when the game or a drive was on the line.
He took those drops seriously, and reports came out that he spent time after practice every day working with equipment staff to catch tennis balls. Just as it seemed he had cured his case of the dropsies, he could not find the end zone. After having a career-high eight touchdowns in 2021, he didn't score even a single touchdown in 2022. During his final season in Pittsburgh, he only played in 13 games because of an injury, scoring five times.
Did The Steelers Drop The Ball With The Diontae Johnson Trade?
Initially, the Steelers were widely considered the "winners" of the Johnson-Jackson trade. The Steel City desperately needed a solid cornerback to pair with Joey Porter Jr. On top of that, both Jackson and Johnson seemed to be itching for a fresh start somewhere new.
However, that was when most felt the Steelers would acquire a strong replacement wide receiver like Brandon Aiyuk. Now that the season is getting ready to start and there isn't a solid number two receiver on the roster, many feel that they were hasty in making that trade. While it might be true that they needed someone to partner with Porter, analytically speaking, the Steelers needed a scorer like Johnson more.
