PITTSBURGH — The worst news for the Steelers this week came out of Seattle, not Saint Vincent, believe it or not.
Steelers training camp is what it is, and there is a small army of people daily chronicling every single thing that happens in Latrobe with regards to the team. It doesn't matter how big or insignificant the news is. We get a fresh dose of it, almost up-to-the-minute news about who is doing what and why.
A story that is developing is Diontae Johnson, who is staging a "hold in" and not participating in the 11-on-11 drills, as he is hoping to get a contract extension signed before the season starts.
The thing is: Johnson's camp got some really good news Thursday that had nothing to do with him or the Steelers. It came from Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf, who signed a three-year extension worth $72 million. Metcalf got $58 million guaranteed and will be paid $24 million per year.
How does that pertain to Johnson? Well, it is yet one more receiver this offseason receiving a big-money extension worth more than $20 million per year. The price for top receivers has exploded, as evidenced by the fact Metcalf's deal makes him only the sixth-highest paid receiver in the NFL.
Metcalf brings the number of receivers making $20 million or more per year to 13 in the NFL. You add in Brandin Cooks ($19.9 million) and Michael Thomas ($19.2 million), and that's 15 receivers representing 14 teams who make $19 million or more.
That is almost half the teams in the league paying their star receiver $19 million or more. That's what the market dictates for top receivers now, and that's what Johnson and his agent are aiming for.
He should go for that kind of contract. He has earned it, as he has become one of the most productive receivers in the NFL.
And he did last year when he was 5th in the NFL in receptions and 12th in yards per game (right behind Tyreek Hill, $30 million per year, and right ahead of Stefon Diggs, $24 million per). He had eight touchdown receptions and a total of 1,161 receiving yards, 10th in the NFL.
Johnson did all that — don't forget — despite having an aging and mostly shot Ben Roethlisberger with a rubber arm who struggled to throw the ball down the field as the person charged with getting him the ball. He did it despite an offense that at times treated passes of more than 10 yards as illegal.
All of that adds up to the argument Johnson and his representation will make when they seek a deal of $20 million or more per year.
There are many (mostly Steelers fans who are carrying water for their favorite team) who make the case Johnson isn't "elite"; he just was productive because he was Roethlisberger's favorite target.
They may be right, but that's absolutely irrelevant because that is a subjective measure. Statistics — actual production — is what contracts are determined by. By those objective measures, Johnson is clearly a top 10 to 12 receiver in the NFL, and those guys all make $20 million or more.
Johnson is holding in now because he is about to be a free agent, and he wants to get paid now as opposed to risking injury. He is in the last year of his rookie contract and will only earn about $2.8 million in 2022. He understands he is on the verge of signing a life-changing contract, provided he can stay healthy and have another big season.
Given the nature of the NFL, staying healthy is no guarantee, and given the Steelers have a new quarterback, Mitch Trubisky, and a renewed commitment to the run game, there is no guarantee he will be as productive as he was last year.
So, Johnson is right to try to hold out or hold in or whatever he is doing, but he is also a little bit misguided. He can hold in, and it worked last year for T.J. Watt, but it isn't likely to help his cause.
Johnson is a receiver, and receivers are not nearly as valuable as an outside pass rusher like Watt. The Steelers have proven they can find good receivers in the draft, and they have also been reluctant to give big money to receivers not named Antonio Brown — and he is one of the best to ever play the position.
The Steelers are not likely to give Johnson $20 million or more per year, and he shouldn't take less than that, which means he probably needs to bet on himself, play the season and go get paid somewhere else.
That's why holding in is counterproductive — he should want to take every rep with Trubisky possible. He should want to get himself ready to have the best season possible. He should want to work within the confines of the offense now that there is a quarterback who can throw further than 10 yards down the field running it.
Those things should be his priorities because if he doesn't have a big season, he won't get paid elsewhere. Johnson's stance is admirable, and he is right to want to get paid, but his tactic of holding in might actually hurt his cause more than help it.
