Kaboly: Steelers' Diontae Johnson More Aggressive About Trade Than Team

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of needs they have to fill and that includes wide receiver. But what type of wide receiver and how many they need will depend on what the team does with Diontae Johnson. The issue of Johnson's future is complicated by the fact that the Steelers also have a quarterback controversy on their hands. It is unclear if former first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett will be back as the starter, if he will lose the job to longtime backup Mason Rudolph, or if they will acquire a veteran such as Justin Fields or Russell Wilson. 

The question of Johnson's future is also impacted by all of the drama he seems to bring. Despite having a relatively productive season in 2023 after coming back from an injury, he seemed very frustrated and at times appeared to give up on his team. During Week 11, the Steelers suffered a devastating and unexpected loss to the Cleveland Browns. Johnson was upset about his lack of targets and got very chippy with the coaching staff. This led to him almost coming to blows with teammate Minkah Fitzpatrick. 

Now Steelers insider Mark Kaboly from The Athletic has weighed in on the Johnson debacle. Kaboly appeared on a recent episode of the 93.7 The Fan Morning Show with co-hosts Dorin Dickerson and Adam Crowley. They asked Kaboly about a rumor that began during the 2024 NFL Combine from Tony Pauline, an NFL insider. Pauline said that the Steelers would be willing to trade Johnson for the right price, and wanted to know if he had heard the same thing. He said he had, but in his opinion, Pauline might have the origin backwards. 

"Yeah, I've heard some stuff here and there. It might be the Steelers are looking to see who's interested because potentially Diontae Johnson might not want to be here either. Hard to nail down now which angle it's coming from, but if I was a betting man, I would say that Diontae might be pushing this more than the Steelers," said Kaboly.

Kaboly told Crowley and Dickerson that it makes sense that Johnson would want to leave if you think about it. He is in the final year of his contract and it seems unlikely that the Steelers are going to extend him. He has already been clear that he wants a big-money contract. If he does return to finish out that contract, it might not be the best audition for his future in the league. The quarterback situation is iffy according to Kaboly and Johnson was already angry about the lack of targets.  

As for what the Steelers can get for him, Kaboly doesn't think it matters. It is a deep draft at wide receiver, but there is no guarantee that the rookie will light up the scoreboard. As for free agency, there aren't a lot of options. The exceptional ones are very expensive, more than Pittsburgh will spend. But Kaboly expects them to get a slot receiver in free agency to complement whoever they possibly draft.

Steelers' Diontae Johnson Could Be A Hold-In

Kaboly said that this is far from a done deal and he thinks that there is still about a 75% chance that Johnson will be back on the Steelers roster for the 2024 season. However, he does expect that Johnson will stage another "hold-in" if he doesn't have a contract that satisfies him. Johnson has to play this year, however. He doesn't have the option to miss time because there is a new offense coming with the hiring of Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith.   

Per Kaboly, if the team trades Johnson before June 1st, it would give them a $10 million savings, and a $5.8 million cap hit. From another team's perspective, it isn't a bad deal because the signing bonus is all on the Steelers, the salary alone is about $7 million.  

For his part, Johnson has said that if he is unhappy with the quarterback situation, he will hold-in again. He did this two years ago to push his desire to improve his contract situation. But in this case, Johnson has been frustrated with Pickett not getting him the ball enough. During the last three games of the season when Rudolph was leading the team, Johnson saw an increase in his targets. He has been very vocal that he thinks Rudolph should be at the helm in 2024. 

What do you think will happen with Johnson? Comment below!

#SteelerNation