Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson is not making a good first impression with his new team, the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns have begun OTAs, but Johnson is not in attendance for the voluntary portion of the offseason program, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
“One player that I was very intrigued to see on Wednesday, and he happened to not be there, was Diontae Johnson,” Kay Cabot said on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show. “He’s a Pro Bowler and he runs amazing routes, and this is kind of his last chance to prove that he belongs here in the NFL because so many teams gave up on him last year. If he can be there, he should be there, because he has a lot to prove to the Browns, to himself, to everybody in the NFL.”
Again, his attendance is not mandatory, but Johnson should be there after what has transpired with his career in recent years.
A former 1,100-yard wide receiver with the Steelers in 2021, Johnson was traded to the Carolina Panthers during the 2024 offseason after becoming disgruntled in Pittsburgh.
Johnson wasn’t any happier with the Panthers, and Carolina ended up trading him to the Baltimore Ravens at the trade deadline, but he was unhappy with his role in Baltimore and even refused to enter a game, which led to him getting cut.
The wide receiver-needy Houston Texans picked him up next, but the story was similar with Johnson’s bad attitude before he was waived again.
Johnson needs to make a good impression in Cleveland and do whatever it takes to carve out a role for himself or else he could find himself out of the league entirely.
Not showing up for OTAs to get to work with his new teammates is not a good way to go about doing that and repairing his image, which is in shambles after last season.
It’s still early, but things aren’t looking great for Johnson in Cleveland.
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