It has not been a great start to the season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. After Sunday's 24-20 loss to the New York Jets, the franchise has fallen to 0-2 at home and 1-3 overall. Fans are going to get what they have been asking for as rookie quarterback, Kenny Pickett replaced Mitch Trubisky in the second half of the matchup. There are many more unsettling things about the team than just the signal-caller position, however. One of those came to light after the game on Sunday when the team's top wide receiver, Diontae Johnson hinted at the fact that the locker room has accepted this season being a transition year.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, Diontae Johnson (#18) looks on at 2022 training camp at St. Vincent College. | Jordan Schofield Steeler Nation / (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
Johnson said the goal is to win football games, but he seemed to imply that victories won't be in the cards too much in 2022:
"Everybody wants to win. Obviously, it's a rebuilding year. I'm not going to use that as an excuse," Johnson said. "It doesn't matter who's at quarterback. It's our job to get it done and win games for the Steelers. That's what we gotta do."
It sure sounds like an excuse from someone who once again dropped a couple key passes on Sunday that could have changed the trajectory of the game.
A ball through Diontae Johnson’s hands. How surprising.
— Chris Mack (@THEChrisMack) October 2, 2022
Perhaps he can blame the offensive coordinator for it.
It can be understood that the wide receiver is mainly talking about the quarterback position, but when he was asked if he feels bad for the recently-benched Trubisky, he did not shy away from how he feels:
"It's tough on him. Certain things everybody's thinking about and certain stuff he's probably thinking about as well. But, it's football. Next man up. Somebody's got to step up and get the job done."
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky enjoys a moment during practice in preparation to face the New York Jets this Sunday at Acrisure Stadium. Photo Credit - (Abigail Dean/Pittsburgh Steelers)
Johnson will now have to catch passes from the rookie in what seemed to be a more efficient offense in the second half of Sunday's game. He backed up the decision to bring in Pickett after the game:
"He gave us a spark, what we needed. I feel like when he came in, we were just more efficient. You could see it. The energy, he played with swag. That makes us want to play for him too."
The wide receiver only hauled in two catches on four targets while also being at fault for Trubisky's interception in the second quarter. It doesn't quite seem like he played well enough to take a jab at the organization for ‘rebuilding.’ He took a backseat to both Pat Freiermuth and George Pickens who were two of the only offensive players to play complete games against the Jets.
Pittsburgh Steelers rookie wide receiver, George Pickens (#14) warms up at Acrisure Stadium prior to a 2022 preseason game. | Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
After signing a contract extension before the season began, Johnson was expected to be one of the leaders of a young offense. Comments like the ones he made about it being a rebuilding year are not going to sit well with anyone in the organization. The reality is that it may be, especially with a brutal schedule ahead, but there are no excuses for a player and an important one at that to come out and essentially throw in the white towel already.
What do you make of Johnson's comments after the Week 4 loss? Let us know in the comments below!
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