Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (shoulder) was non-committal on his availability for this weekend's opener vs. the Bengals when asked on Wednesday. "I'm doing everything I can and get back to the guys one day at a time," he said. Johnson banged up his shoulder in the preseason finale and said he could not have returned to that game even if it had been the regular season. We'll track his practice participation over the next few days. Johnson's absence would obviously be a big boost to the target projections on George Pickens, Chase Claypool and Pat Freiermuth.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin told CBS' Evan Washburn at halftime of Sunday's preseason finale that WR Diontae Johnson's shoulder injury is "minor." Tomlin added that Johnson might have been able to return if it was a regular-season game and that there's "no long term concern." Johnson carries a tad more risk until we get an official diagnosis on the shoulder injury, but it sure sounds like he avoided anything significant.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson left Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury. He landed on his shoulder after making a downfield catch in the 1st quarter. In 2 weeks, Pittsburgh kicks off the regular season at Cincinnati.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson is dealing with a hip flexor injury, HC Mike Tomlin said Monday. Johnson, of course, had just returned to full-team work after getting his extension last Thursday. This injury doesn't sound significant, but we'll keep an eye on him.
The Steelers have agreed to a 2-year, $36.71 million extension with WR Diontae Johnson. The deal locks in the team targets leader through 2024, allowing him to hit the open market ahead of his age-29 season. It's noteworthy that Pittsburgh invested in Johnson after allowing JuJu Smith-Schuster to hit the open market each of the past 2 years, including this year's departure to Kansas City.
The Steelers have opened contract talks with WR Diontae Johnson, per team insider Gerry Dulac. That lines up with the words from GM Omar Kahn, who said today that he’s been in touch with Johnson’s reps. “We want Diontae,” Kahn said. “We’re excited for him this season. We hope he’ll be a Steeler for a long time.” Johnson’s been a limited practice participant to date. We’ll see if both sides can agree on the financials ahead of Week 1.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson is sitting out team drills at training camp. Johnson, of course, is entering the final year of his rookie deal. "I acknowledge that he was less than 100% participation," HC Mike Tomlin said Wednesday. "We'll continue to manage the circumstance. But right now, my energy and focus is on those that are participating, and I think that's the appropriate mindset to have from time to time.” Johnson, 26, said he wants to stay in Pittsburgh long-term but acknowledges the business side of the league. "I learned you can't take stuff personally because it's business at the end of the day," he said. "That's what I'm learning, slowly. It's just like anything, stuff gets frustrating, but it's how you respond to it. I'm not letting that get to me at all; I am just going to keep going at it and worrying about the right things.” We’ll see if any progress is made in the coming days.
Steelers beat writer Brian Batko writes that “there’s no indication” the team is interested in trading WR Diontae Johnson. Recently, rumors popped up that Pittsburgh was interested in trading the contract-year WR, but there’s no substance here. While the Steelers are considered unlikely to re-sign the 26-year-old — he’ll command a pretty penny next offseason — the team will stick with a win-now approach. HC Mike Tomlin’s never gone worse than 8-8 in a given season.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson is not participating in Pittsburgh’s offseason program. Citing Johnson’s social media posts, beat writer Mark Kaboly concludes that the WR wants a new contract. The 25-year-old is set for a contract year following a 107-catch season. Per Kaboly, the earliest an extension would likely come is September. We’ll see on that, but there’s no cause for concern unless Johnson sits out training camp.
The Steelers added Georgia WR George Pickens with the 52nd overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. Pickens was a 5-star recruit and a top-5 WR in the 2019 class. He immediately delivered on that hype, leading the Bulldogs in catches (49), yards (727) and TDs (8) as a true freshman. He ranked 17th in Pro Football Focus’ receiving grades among 290 WRs with 50+ targets – 2 spots ahead of Jerry Jeudy and 3 spots ahead of Justin Jefferson. Pickens improved his per-game numbers a tad in 2020, averaging 4.5 catches, 64.1 yards and .75 TDs across 8 games. But his PFF receiving grade took a significant step back, landing 75th among 146 qualifying WRs. Pickens’ 2021 was then basically wiped out by a torn right ACL suffered in March of that year. He made it back for the final 4 games of the season but totaled just 4 catches. That freshman year is enticing, though, and Pickens pops on tape. He has long-striding speed, a big catch radius and is physical after the catch. The 6’3, 195-pounder earned a 94th percentile Relative Athletic Score at the Combine. Pickens’ limited college resume leaves him as a risky prospect. But he has the upside to develop into a #1 WR in the NFL. Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool are locked in as Pittsburgh’s top 2 WRs in the short term, but Pickens has a good shot to win the #3 WR job this summer. Longer term, Johnson is is the final year of his contract and Claypool is set to hit free agency in 2024.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson has been activated from the COVID list. He should be available for his usual role in Sunday's finale vs. the Ravens.
The Steelers placed WR Diontae Johnson on the COVID list Thursday, which should knock him out for Sunday's regular-season finale at Baltimore. Johnson's absence leaves Chase Claypool, James Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud as Pittsburgh's top 3 WRs for a high-ceiling matchup with the bad Ravens pass D. All 3 will be worth a look in fantasy football lineups at varying levels.
Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has been activated from the COVID list. He'll fly separate from the rest of the team to Los Angeles but is expected to start Sunday night's game vs. the Chargers. Roethlisberger is just a low-end QB2 against the league's 3rd-ranked QB defense. But his return is good news for Pittsburgh's skill-position guys after QB Mason Rudolph's Week 10 flop.
Steelers WR Chase Claypool is considered "week-to-week" with a toe injury, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. We'll look for a more concrete timeline for Claypool's return, but we can safely assume that he'll miss Sunday's game vs. the Lions. With WR JuJu Smith-Schuster on IR, we'll likely see James Washington join Diontae Johnson in 2-WR sets, with Ray-Ray McCloud the #3 WR. Johnson should continue to dominate targets. TE Pat Freiermuth could see more volume, too.
Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster underwent shoulder surgery on Sunday night and will miss the remainder of the 2021 season, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Smith-Schuster is set to hit free agency next offseason after inking a 1-year deal with Pittsburgh back in March. His absence the rest of this season will make WR Chase Claypool a safer weekly target bet. WR Diontae Johnson, of course, will continue to see plenty of volume.
Steelers WR Chase Claypool (hamstring) has been ruled out for tomorrow's game vs. the Packers. No surprise after he hurt that hamstring on Thursday and didn't practice on Friday. His status for Week 5 beyond is uncertain. WR James Washington will step into Claypool's spot in 3-WR sets but would be a shaky fantasy play with QB Ben Roethlisberger struggling badly. WRs Diontae Johnson and JuJu Smith-Schuster should also pick up extra targets.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (knee) practiced all week and isn't listed on the final injury report. He'll be back for Sunday's game vs. the Packers. Johnson racked up 22 targets over the first 2 games of the season and should be in for heavy volume again in Week 4.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (knee) was upgraded to full participation in Thursday's practice. He's on track to return for Sunday's game vs. the Packers. Even with a washed-up Ben Roethlisberger, Johnson's volume makes him a solid WR2 play.
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