Diontae Johnson admits he refused to enter a game because he was cold

USA Today

7 hours ago

Baltimore was too cold for former Ravens receiver Diontae Johnson. Perhaps the weather in, uh, Cleveland will be more agreeable for one of the Browns' newest pass-catchers.
In a recent interview with the Sports & Suits podcast, Johnson confessed that he refused to enter a game for the Ravens last season because he was cold.
"End of the third going into the fourth, they were like, 'Tae, we need you,'" Johnson said. "I was like, 'Nah, I don't think it's a good idea for me.' Like, my legs are already ice cold and I didn't wanna go out there and put bad stuff on film."
According to the National Weather Service, the Baltimore area experienced a high of 44 degrees and a low of 21 degrees on Dec. 1, 2024, the date of the game in question: a Ravens Week 13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
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Johnson went on to say that his business decision was the reason the Ravens, who had acquired him at the trade deadline from the Carolina Panthers earlier in the season, suspended him for one game. Baltimore waived him a week after he served his suspension, and the Houston Texans claimed him a few days later.
The former Raven didn't stick in Houston long. He also told Sports & Suits that the Texans prioritized their younger guys for playing time after he joined the team. Before long, Johnson said he "checked out mentally."
"After that, they said I was a distraction and they released me," the veteran said.
Houston waived Johnson after Week 18, and the Ravens re-claimed the wideout. But he was ineligible to play the remainder of the postseason and became a free agent after Baltimore lost their divisional round playoff game.
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Johnson finished the 2024 season with 33 catches for 375 yards and three touchdowns across stints with three different teams.
In April, Johnson signed a one-year, $1.17 million deal with the Browns.
According to data collected by the National Weather Service, average temperatures in Cleveland during the fall months of the football season — between September and November — have hovered around four degrees colder than Baltimore since 2000. In the winter months of December and January, temperatures in Cleveland have been an average of 6.5 degrees colder than in Baltimore during the same period.
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