John Harbaugh Gives Cryptic Comments on Diontae Johnson's Status With Ravens

The 28-year-old receiver didn't play a single offensive snap on Sunday.
Johnson has caught one pass for six yards since joining the Ravens in Week 9.
Johnson has caught one pass for six yards since joining the Ravens in Week 9. / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
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Five weeks into his Baltimore Ravens tenure, Diontae Johnson has yet to make an impact on the offense.

The Ravens acquired the 28-year-old wide receiver and a sixth-round pick from the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a fifth-rounder at the trade deadline to give quarterback Lamar Jackson another target in the passing game.

In five games since the move, however, Johnson has caught just one pass for six yards on five targets. He didn't play a single offensive snap in the Ravens' 24–19 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said he wasn't ready to comment on Johnson's status after the game Sunday, and he was cryptic again Monday about the receiver's future in Baltimore.

"At this time, I'm going to have to wait," Harbaugh said. "There are some moving parts there that we're going to have to figure out and explore and see where we're at. It's the best I can do in fairness to everybody right now."

The Ravens are Johnson's third team dating back to last season. After spending the first five years of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Johnson was traded to the Panthers in March and moved again eight months later.

Johnson had the best season of his career in 2021, earning a Pro Bowl nod after catching a career-high 107 passes for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns in 16 games for the Steelers.

Through 11 games this season for the Ravens and Panthers, Johnson has hauled in 31 catches for 363 yards and three scores.


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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.