Ex-Panthers WR Diontae Johnson admits Browns were only team to contact him this offseason
Ex-Panthers WR Diontae Johnson admits Browns were only team to contact him this offseason
A former Carolina Panthers wide receiver may be on his last chance in the NFL.
Diontae Johnson, now a member of the Cleveland Browns, chatted with reporters from the site of his new team's mandatory minicamp on Wednesday. The 28-year-old and one-time Pro Bowler talked about trying to move on from a tumultuous 2024 season, one where he picked up four different stints with three different teams.
"Everybody's gonna have their opinions," stated Johnson, who also admitted that the Browns were the only team to contact him this offseason. "At the end of the day, I'm the only one in that room that really know what be going on. They're entitled to their own opinion. I can only go off of what I know and try to go off of what I put out there, my best effort. Last year's last year, I'm trying to change that narrative and move the right way and keep going."
Johnson's campaign began with the Panthers, who acquired him in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers at the start of the new league year. Then Johnson, despite leading the team in every major receiving stat through eight weeks, was shipped away to the Baltimore Ravens in a deal involving a late-round draft pick swap.
The Panthers didn't disclose exactly why they cut ties with Johnson, but their reasoning may have become evident during his stay in Baltimore. After refusing to enter a Week 13 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, Johnson was suspended and eventually waived by the Ravens.
He'd then wind up with the Houston Texans right ahead of their playoff run. Johnson's run there, however, was cut short—as the Texans parted ways with him after he made a scene in the locker room following the team's wild-card round win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
His season essentially came to an end when he was claimed by the Ravens a day later. Baltimore, who had no intentions of actually playing Johnson for the remainder of their postseason appearance, picked him up in an effort to improve their compensatory draft pick formula . . . and maybe to stick it to the disgruntled pass catcher.
So, after all of that, perhaps Johnson was lucky to have even one team show interest in him.
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