Diontae Johnson Cut By Browns, Serves As Reminder Mike Tomlin Is A Great Coach
From Carolina to Baltimore to Houston to Cleveland, Johnson’s saga underscores Tomlin’s people-management legacy.
Tuesday serves as cutdown day in the NFL and veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson is among the roster casualties. The Cleveland Browns released Johnson, who signed a one-year deal this offseason.
The cut continues the downward spiral of Johnson and should serve as a reminder that Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is arguably the best locker-room manager in the NFL.
Johnson was known to be a distraction in Pittsburgh, but no one seemingly knew the full breadth of it. He averaged nearly 900 yards per season in Pittsburgh, caught 25 touchdown passes and made a Pro Bowl. At one point, Johnson was considered a top-10 NFL receiver.
However, following a trade to Carolina prior to the 2024 season, Johnson's career basically bottomed-out. The Panthers traded him to the Ravens seven months after acquiring him and Baltimore waived him two months later (after a suspension for "conduct detrimental to team"). The Texans claimed him, then waived him after two weeks.
The Ravens reclaimed him, albeit with no intention of playing him, and he became a free agent following the season. The Browns signed him, and now have cut him.
On NFL cutdown day, the Browns released Diontae Johnson—capping a chaotic year and underscoring Mike Tomlin’s knack for managing difficult personalities in Pittsburgh.
(Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
Why is this important? Well, it shows how adept Mike Tomlin is at dealing with difficult personalities. Diontae Johnson is far from the first diva that Tomlin managed to get solid production from before their attitudes essentially ended their careers. Remember Antonio Brown? No one realized how difficult he was until he left Pittsburgh.
When he was in black and gold, he posted four consecutive All-Pro seasons. After that, even Tom Brady couldn't get him to behave, although he did catch a touchdown in the Super Bowl.
How about Le'Veon Bell? He was considered one of the best running backs in the NFL until he decided to sit out an entire season while disputing his salary and attempting a career in rap music. Now, he's trying to become a professional boxer. The point can't be stressed enough: no one really knew how deep the problems were behind the scenes with these Steelers because Mike Tomlin kept it that way.
That should also serve as a warning to other NFL teams. If Tomlin allows a talented player to walk, or trades him away, there might just be a reason.