Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, Diontae Johnson has been under fire for over a week. He is no stranger to fan frustrations, his past few seasons have been plagued by dropped balls and a scoring drought. Now as those seemed to have cleared up, Johnson has been caught displaying some "diva" like behaviors, including nearly coming to blows with a superstar teammate. A recent lack of action during a fumble caused him to go viral, well outside the Steel City, and it has led former players, including offensive guard Ramon Foster, to be critical of the way he handled himself. Does his behavior impact his future in Pittsburgh? Foster thinks it might and offers some thoughts on how he can dig himself out of this hole.
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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, Diontae Johnson (18) against the Green Bay Packers in 2021.
During the Steelers' Week 12 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Johnson had two costly blunders. First, on a potential scoring play, Johnson was unable to maintain possession of the football as he was hit and the catch was ruled incomplete. The critics of Head Coach Mike Tomlin believed he should have thrown the challenge flag. Johnson did get his feet down in bounds and lost the ball as he was tackled. However, both things can be true, Tomlin should have challenged and Johnson should have held the ball.
Fans probably could have gotten over the drop if the next bit hadn't happened. On the subsequent play, running back Jaylen Warren fumbled the ball, almost at Johnson's feet. Maybe aliens suddenly took Johnson's brain because every Steelers fan in the world was screaming, "Grab the football!" Johnson looked like he was sitting through a lecture on ancient Roman architecture, he couldn't have appeared less interested. He made no move for the ball. None. Spoiler alert: Cincinnati recovered the ball. His behavior was so abhorrent that it overshadowed the fact that Warren fumbled the ball.
CBS Sports
Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson appeared to give no effort toward recovering a ball fumbled by teammate Jaylen Warren.
Foster now co-hosts a podcast with reporter Dejan Kovacevic on DK Pittsburgh Sports called The Ramon Foster Show. On a recent episode, they dove into the Johnson situation. Kovacevic recapped that it seemed obvious that Johnson saw the loose ball and that Tomlin said he was allowing the team to address this internally, meaning Johnson would have to answer to his teammates. According to Foster, the best thing Johnson can do is take ownership of his actions (or lack thereof) and be humble.
"I'll let somebody elect to a film embarrassment and that's honestly what Diontae is freaking dealing with right now. Guys that don't buy into the team system, unless they're in a position to where they know they're not going to be in the city next year. I think Diontae is back for Pittsburgh next year, but then again, I don't know if he is or not. That play just looks terrible."
Foster said that situations where you appear to be a "bad teammate" are the worst ones you can have in professional sports. He shared that his biggest frustrations came when he supported a player who blatantly put the team at risk. Once that happens, the only thing a player can do is earn that trust back.
"The best thing you can do is peel somebody off the pile if there's a fight. You be the first one there to show you're all in on being a great teammate. Diontae is the big dog in the wide receiver room. Gifts to the guys around Christmas time, show that leadership initiative to where you say, 'Man, I'm not a bad teammate, I had a bad moment.'"
Foster believes that Tomlin is handling this the correct way. There is no point in publicly shaming Johnson or an admission by Tomlin that he is disciplining/benching Johnson, those things hurt the team. What they need is for the team to come together as a unit. If Tomlin, the team, and Johnson are all on the same page, it doesn't matter what the public thinks.
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Former Steelers OG Ramon Foster, now hosts a podcast on DK Pittsburgh Sports.
Foster thinks that the Steelers will come through this situation just fine. He hopes that Johson learns that you just can't be a selfish teammate in those kinds of moments. When you are frustrated, you have to shake it off and not let it spill over to the next play or game, and clearly Johnson has been carrying around frustration.
Steelers' Diontae Johnson Just Can't Seem To Get Out Of His Own Way
Johnson is in his fifth season with the Steelers after being drafted in the third round in 2019 out of Toledo. During his time in the NFL, Johnson has had his ups and downs. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2021 after his best statistical season.
After struggling with a case of the dropsies early in his career, fans were impressed by the hard work Johnson put in to conquer those struggles. No sooner did he get through that, then he suddenly couldn't score a touchdown. His lack of scoring lasted until the Thursday night game against the Tennessee Titans.
Matt Freed / AP
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson (18) celebrates a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans.
To be fair to Johnson, this Steelers team has had its own struggles during his career that haven't made it easy for him. He started out playing for future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger, then Mitch Trubisky, and now Kenny Pickett. He has been on offenses with subpar lines and questionable play-calling. Now with some stability in the offense, Johnson is out of excuses and the spotlight is on him. He can only control what he can control, which is his own attitude and gameplay. As a senior member of the offense, he needs to step up and lead.
What do you think about Foster's comments? Do you think Johnson will return to Pittsburgh next year? Click to comment below!
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