Diontae Johnson Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

The Browns are releasing WR Diontae Johnson, according to NFL Network. It'd been trending this way for most of August for Johnson, who was not good in training camp.

The Browns have named QB Joe Flacco their starter to open the season. He beat out Kenny Pickett for the job, while rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders were never serious threats. Flacco’s presence should be a boost for the Browns’ WRs and TEs compared with the alternatives.

Browns TE Harold Fannin was held out of Saturday's preseason game, alongside QB Joe Flacco, WR Jerry Jeudy, TE David Njoku and a bunch of other presumed starters. "All are primed for starting or significant roles," ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi tweeted.

The Athletic's Zac Jackson writes that the Browns' pass-catching corps outside of WR Jerry Jeudy and TE Harold Fannin has underwhelmed in camp. Jackson specifically mentions WR Diontae Johnson as a disappointment.

There's a lot of change in the Cleveland offense this year. That's especially true in the backfield and at QB, but the latter could also mean fluidity in the WR corps. We'll be tracking usage and buzz throughout the rest of summer and the preseason games, but Max Loeb of Cleveland podcast Honor the Land offered some interesting practice observations this week.

Browns WR Cedric Tillman is “still viewed internally as an ascending player,” per The Athletic’s Zac Jackson. Tillman turned just 25 in April.

The Browns have agreed to a one-year deal with WR Diontae Johnson, according to multiple reports. Since the end of the 2023 season, Johnson has seen the Steelers trade him to Carolina, the Panthers trade him to the Ravens for minimal return, Baltimore waive him, Houston claim him only to release him shortly thereafter ... and then no team sign him until after the draft. Johnson averaged career lows 2.8 receptions and 31.3 yards per game across last year's three stops. He'll turn 29 in July.

The Ravens have claimed WR Diontae Johnson off waivers from the Texans, NFL Network reports. Johnson, of course, spent some time with Baltimore earlier this season after Carolina traded him away. The Ravens dumped him after four games.

The Texans have waived WR Diontae Johnson ahead of their Divisional Round playoff game against the Chiefs. That marks the fourth team that has sent him away since the end of the 2023 NFL season.

The Texans have claimed WR Diontae Johnson off waivers from the Ravens, according to multiple reports. That marks his fourth team since the end of last season.

The Ravens waived WR Diontae Johnson. This has been heading for a split for a few weeks now. Johnson wound up playing just 39 snaps and catching one pass for the Ravens. We'll see if he's claimed off waivers on Monday or hits the open market. He obviously won't be a fantasy factor the rest of this season. Johnson will be a free agent in March.

The Ravens and WR Diontae Johnson have "mutually agreed" to excuse Johnson from team activities this week. He won't play against the Steelers on Saturday, and it's looking like he won't suit up for Baltimore again. His trade from Carolina was a total killer for his fantasy value. Johnson will hit free agency in March.

The Ravens are suspending WR Diontae Johnson for one game for conduct detrimental to the team, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reports. We don't have any other details, but we're guessing this is related to Johnson's lack of playing time since arriving in Baltimore. He played 0 snaps in Week 13 after playing just 39 total over his first four games with the team. Johnson won't play against the Giants in Week 15. We'll see if he gets on the field beyond that, but there's no reason to hang on to him in redraft leagues. He's scheduled to hit free agency this offseason.

Update: Johnson was suspended for refusing to enter the game against the Eagles, GM Eric DeCosta said.

Ravens HC John Harbaugh said Monday that the knee injury that knocked WR Rashod Bateman out of the Week 13 loss to the Eagles is not long term. It sounds like we'll see Bateman again this season, although it's unclear exactly when that will be. He at least gets a Week 14 bye to heal up. Aready a fringe fantasy asset, Bateman can be dropped in most redraft leagues. His injury should be an opportunity for WR Diontae Johnson to add playing time, but he played zero snaps vs. against the Eagles and has something going on behind the scenes. Harbaugh wouldn't even commit to Johnson still being on the team after the bye week when asked on Monday. Nelson Agholor figures to step in as Baltimore's No. 2 WR if Bateman isn't ready come Week 15 but isn't worth an add outside of very deep fantasy leagues.

Ravens WR Diontae Johnson played just five snaps and ran three pass routes in the Week 10 win over the Bengals. His playing time was actually down from his Week 9 Ravens debut (17 snaps, six routes). Johnson was at least targeted on two of his three routes against Cincinnati. He caught the first for six yards; the second fell incomplete after Johnson stumbled trying to work downfield.

Ravens HC John Harbaugh told CBS' Tracy Wolfson that WR Diontae Johnson is expected to play 10-15 snaps vs. the Broncos today. We'd expect most of those snaps to come on passing plays, but it's still not nearly enough to make Johnson a viable Week 9 fantasy play. We'll continue to monitor his playing time as he settles into his new offense.