Diontae Johnson will not rejoin Ravens this week

The Ravens suspended Johnson for a game for refusing to enter the team’s Week 13 matchup against the Eagles. That suspension took effect in Week 15, and Johnson is eligible to return to the Ravens. He will not do so this week, the team announced. 

The Ravens are not classifying this as an extension of the wideout’s ban but rather a mutual agreement between the parties to remain separate. The sides are "working through their options," per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

It would seem the Ravens are aiming to avoid cutting Johnson and making him available to another contending team on waivers. The 49ers have gone through with a three-game suspension for De’Vondre Campbell for refusing to enter their Week 15 game. At this stage of his career, Campbell would not make the kind of difference to a contender Johnson would. As such, it appears Baltimore is stashing the former Pittsburgh WR1 right now.

"There are reasons for doing things, front office-type reasons," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said, via The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec, when asked why the team is not releasing Johnson. "I want to think about Pittsburgh and the guys who are going to be here getting ready to play Pittsburgh. That’s my focus 100%."

Johnson has gone from the Steelers’ most targeted wideout to a player who showed flashes with the Panthers to a non-factor as a Raven. Baltimore let Odell Beckham Jr. walk this year and did not make significant additions at the position this offseason, bringing back its Zay Flowers–Rashod Bateman–Nelson Agholor trio. 

A strong route runner who has consistently created separation (albeit with drop trouble mixed in at points), Johnson would have conceivably brought an interesting chess piece in Todd Monken’s offense. No such role emerged, as Johnson has one catch for six yards in four games with Baltimore.

The Ravens may also look to tack games onto Johnson’s suspension, with the 49ers’ Campbell move serving as an eerie parallel given how rare an instance of a player refusing to enter a game is. It is safe to say this season has brought tremendous damage to Johnson’s 2025 free-agency stock, as he is limping to the finish line on a Steelers-designed two-year, $36.7M extension.