Diontae Johnson details what led to his suspension from Ravens

The 2024 season was a tumultuous one for wide receiver Diontae Johnson. It started with a preseason trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Carolina Panthers, continued with a mid-season trade to the Baltimore Ravens where he lasted just four games before being suspended and then released and ended with him on the Houston Texans for two weeks before he was, again, released.

He caught just 30 passes between the three teams, and had what was by far the worst season of his career where he seemed to create more headaches than touchdowns.

His stops in Baltimore and Houston were especially bad, including his suspension with the Ravens after he refused to enter a game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

This week Johnson went into detail about why he did not go into the game on the Sports and Suits podcast, and it's a pretty shocking reason. 

(Transcribed by Steelers Now)

“I wasn’t getting into no run plays, no passing plays or nothing. It was cold,” Johnson said. “End of the third going into the fourth, they were like, ‘Tae, we need you.’ I was like, ‘Nah, I don’t think it’s a good idea for me.’ Like, my legs are already ice cold and I didn’t wanna go out there and put bad stuff on film. It’s not like I didn’t wanna go into the game, but leading up to this point, I had been through so much. … I told them I’m not finna go in, so I just sat on the bench, and that’s when they suspended me.”

Saying it was too cold and not wanting to put bad things on film is a pretty wild reason to not enter a game between two Super Bowl contenders, especially when the game-time temperature that day was 41 degrees. Chilly, but definitely not sub-zero. He's played in many colder games throughout his career in Pittsburgh. 

The Ravens suspended him for a week and then released him, setting the stage for him to briefly go to Houston.

Johnson signed with the Cleveland Browns this offseason. 

Johnson has been productive at times in his career, including a 107-catch, 1,161-yard season with the Steelers in 2021. He is a great route-runner and excels at finding open spaces in defense. The downside to him is he has had issues with drops and has been prone to sideline and locker room outbursts in all of his previous stops. 

The Browns are hoping they can avoid that while helping him get back to being the productive player he was earlier in his career.