Diontae Johnson‘s eventful 2024 effectively torpedoed his free agency stock, the now-well-traveled wide receiver has found a new home.
The Browns are signing the veteran wideout, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. This will be Johnson’s third AFC North stop, as the formerly productive Steelers pass catcher’s turbulent year wrapped with the Ravens. Johnson visited the Browns on Monday.
As expected, we heard next to nothing about Johnson during the pre-draft free agency period. His having been moved four times last year — twice traded, twice waived — saw to it that the former 1,000-yard Ben Roethlisberger target would need to rebuild his stock. The Browns will give him a chance after not selecting a receiver in the draft.
Johnson follows Tyler Lockett off the board at receiver. Lockett joined the Titans just before Round 1, leaving Keenan Allen and ex-Browns 1,000-yard target Amari Cooper as the most notable unsigned talents at the position.
Going into 2024, Johnson carried a reputation as a high-end route runner and a player who dealt with drop issues. Effort concerns also cropped up late in his Pittsburgh tenure, but that no longer defines the former third-round pick. Instead, Johnson burned bridges at every turn last season. He asked out of Pittsburgh, which traded him to Carolina for cornerback Donte Jackson. Johnson, 28, then sought a trade from the Panthers. It only worsened from there, as he wore out his welcome quickly in Baltimore and Houston.
The Ravens acquired Johnson in a pick-swap deal involving Day 3 choices. At the time, that seemed like a win for Baltimore due to the experience and production Johnson accumulated during his first five seasons. But Johnson’s Ravens tenure showed why that trade price emerged. The Ravens suspended the trade pickup for refusing to enter a Week 13 Eagles matchup after Rashod Bateman had gone down with an injury. This led to the Ravens waiving Johnson, who did not reach free agency thanks to claims from the Chargers and Texans. Houston’s waiver priority won out, but the team — even after injuries ended Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell‘s seasons — barely deployed its late-season addition and waived him barely two weeks after making the successful claim.
Johnson, who had signed at two-year Steelers extension worth $36.7MM in 2022, was believed to have been needed to be calmed down by teammates after he was sparsely used in the Texans’ wild-card win over the Chargers. The six-year veteran played all of 16 offensive snaps across two Texans games, as the team did not deem him a reliable auxiliary cog. The Ravens then claimed Johnson for the sole purpose of potentially recouping a late-round comp pick, as they are known to hoard those. No such reward will arrive, as no team signed Johnson until after that deadline passed.
Cleveland has not re-signed Cooper, whom it traded to Buffalo before last year’s deadline. As Cooper has resurfaced as a Dallas option, the Browns will take a flier on Johnson. This will mark an interesting Johnson-Kenny Pickett reunion. Pickett’s rookie year famously involved Johnson setting an NFL record for most receptions (86) in a season without a touchdown. Johnson scored five TDs in 2023, but the Steelers had begun to sour on Pickett by then. Pickett is now one of four QBs in the picture for the Browns, who drafted Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders after re-signing Joe Flacco.
The Browns have Jerry Jeudy entrenched as their top receiver, with Cedric Tillman Jr. tentatively in place as their No. 2 option. The team has also not re-signed Elijah Moore, who served as a slot performer following a 2023 trade.
Johnson, who totaled at least 680 receiving yards each year from 2019-23 (including a 1,161-yard 2021 to help the Steelers to the playoffs), has a resume that would support a starting role. But he will need to prove he can be relied upon again. It is interesting that Cleveland would make this move with two rookie QBs set to begin development, but Johnson has been one of the league’s better separators. If he can reestablish himself as a usable piece, the Browns would benefit.
Nikhil Mehta contributed to this post.
This is a guy you want in your locker room to mentor your young quarterbacks.
I was going to ask when the Browns would finally understand that character matters.
And then I remembered that Jimmy Haslam owns them.
Have fun with that.
Cleveland is the new land of misfit toys…
Pittsburgh and Baltimore can give them a run,especially if the Steelers sign Rodgers which looks likely.
I wonder if Browns fans had to do it all over again when the real team moved to Baltimore they would agree to a “new team in three years and keep the colors if they just let Modell go when he still had three years left on his stadium contract.” Should’ve rolled the dice and fought Modell. I remember the great argument at the time. He will run the team on the cheap and they’ll be horrible for those three years. Yep. Traded that for 30 horrible years. Will Baltimore take this team too?
I really thought the Browns were on the right track three of four years ago
But wow, talk about a series of ridiculous acquisitions
So did I. I thought they were going to be really really good for a few years.
Not the onion?
How long before they cut him?
I’ll give him til early August lol
That long, huh? I can see him complaining about lack of targets during minicamp.
Hahaha or just being a no-show lol
I remember Diontae pouting and getting frustrated when his buddy Pickett would under- or overthrow him by ten yards. The irony in him landing in Cleveland is too much. Maybe the Browns will bring in Trubisky. You can never have too many QBs
Lmao I’ll laugh so hard if browns sign Trubisky or Tannehill lol
Bro is a countrywide tour lmao four teams in less than a year haha
Good luck with that!!!
The Browns have to be on Hard Knocks. Man, do I pity Stefanski.
As a Browns fan, this is a head scratcher for me…. after going out of their way to draft and sign good character players….they sign Johnson. Is this to give Kenny Pickett a familiar face??? Don’t like this. I’d rather we resign Moore…..
I think they need to see if Sonny Weaver is available to take over as the GM.
You’re all a bunch of unathletic lames. There isn’t a single corner in the nfl that can cover him on an island. Come at him for the drops in Pittsburgh and the character stuff but don’t act like he’s some bum. Would be the most talented receiver on a handful of rosters let alone the one led by Jeudy. Clamoring for a less talented Elijah Moore who also ran himself out of NY for the same bs is insane.
In reality if he goes to KC last year he gets paid. If Houston plays him he gets paid. If Canales doesn’t screw him he gets paid. All you clowns would act up if people were messing with your money too.
Imo questioning a signing like this comes off as a leadership insecurity because the Tomlin, Reid, etc. led teams don’t get these reactions to signing players with character issues.
You are way under selling the “character issues” problem. The fact is, you don’t get released twice in the same year by better teams than the Browns unless you are a serious headache/ chemistry killer. They ultimately didn’t care how fast he ran, he was a cancer.
Hi Diontae!
There’s a common denominator with all the teams that want to get rid of Dionte once he’s in their locker room. Hint: it’s Dionte.
Stefanski is cooked. He obviously has no vote in what is happening in Cleveland but will take the fall at some point this season. Sad
I agree. He’s like a hostage in Cleveland. I think Andrew Berry is decent too. But both are constantly having their strings pulled by the meddling moron duo of Paul DePodesta and Jimmy Haslam.
Does this signing have any comp pick ramifications?
No. That ended after the draft concluded.