Addition by subtraction isn’t the case in the Pittsburgh Steelers trading wide receiver Diontae Johnson. The loss of their leading receiver is significant. It’s still early in the offseason, and the NFL draft is looming, but if the Steelers had a plan when they sent Johnson to Carolina, it hasn’t yet come to fruition.
Rumors surrounding Cincinnati Bengals free agent Tyler Boyd have simmered, and nothing has come of the Brandon Aiyuk talk that was once rampant.
As for why Johnson was traded, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic believes it was all about the money.
“Johnson was traded because he was heading into the final year of his contract, he wasn’t going to be re-signed and he felt the Steelers’ quarterback situation wasn’t going to put him in the position to cash out on another contract next year,” Kaboly wrote in his April 2 Steelers mailbag.
Though Russell Wilson and Justin Fields have yet to take a snap in a Steelers uniform, it’s hard to believe Pittsburgh’s quarterback situation is any worse than it had been since Ben Roethlisberger retired.
Johnson could’ve topped his career year of 2021, when he had 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns, but we’ll never know. And that’s OK.
He now has the opportunity to help struggling quarterback Bryce Young make a name for himself in the NFL.
