Former Steelers WR Makes Stunning Move by Signing With Division Rival, Sparking Major Buzz Around the AFC North

Diontae Johnson‘s eventful 2024 effectively torpedoed his free agency stock, but with the draft bringing an important NFL deadline, the now-well-traveled wide receiver has found a new home.

The Browns are signing the veteran wideout, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. This will be Johnson’s third AFC North stop, as the formerly productive Steelers pass catcher’s turbulent year wrapped with the Ravens. Johnson visited the Browns on Monday.

As expected, we heard next to nothing about Johnson during the pre-draft free agency period. His having been moved four times last year — twice traded, twice waived — saw to it that the former 1,000-yard Ben Roethlisberger target would need to rebuild his stock. The Browns will give him a chance after not selecting a receiver in the draft.

Free agents signed post-draft no longer count toward the compensatory formula. Whereas unrestricted FAs added between the start of the 2025 league year and the draft would factor into clubs’ compensatory hauls for 2026, those added now do not. The post-draft period annually supplies a free agency reignition due to this rule, and Johnson will be one of today’s signings. Johnson follows Tyler Lockett off the board at receiver. Lockett joined the Titans just before Round 1, leaving Keenan Allen and ex-Browns 1,000-yard target Amari Cooper as the most notable unsigned talents at the position.

Going into 2024, Johnson carried a reputation as a high-end route runner and a player who dealt with drop issues. Effort concerns also cropped up late in his Pittsburgh tenure, but that no longer defines the former third-round pick. Instead, Johnson burned bridges at every turn last season. He asked out of Pittsburgh, which traded him to Carolina for cornerback Donte Jackson. Johnson, 28, then sought a trade from the Panthers. It only worsened from there, as he wore out his welcome quickly in Baltimore and Houston.

The Ravens acquired Johnson in a pick-swap deal involving Day 3 choices. At the time, that seemed like a win for Baltimore due to the experience and production Johnson accumulated during his first five seasons. But Johnson’s Ravens tenure showed why that trade price emerged. The Ravens suspended the trade pickup for refusing to enter a Week 13 Eagles matchup after Rashod Bateman had gone down with an injury. This led to the Ravens waiving Johnson, who did not reach free agency thanks to claims from the Chargers and Texans. Houston’s waiver priority won out, but the team, even after injuries ended Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell‘s seasons, barely deployed its late-season addition and waived him barely two weeks after making the successful claim.

Johnson, who had signed a two-year Steelers extension worth $36.7M in 2022, was believed to have needed to be calmed down by teammates after he was sparsely used in the Texans’ wild-card win over the Chargers. The six-year veteran played all of 16 offensive snaps across two Texans games, as the team did not deem him a reliable auxiliary cog. The Ravens then claimed Johnson for the sole purpose of potentially recouping a late-round comp pick, as they are known to hoard those. No such reward will arrive, as no team signed Johnson until after that deadline passed.

Cleveland has not re-signed Cooper, whom it traded to Buffalo before last year’s deadline. As Cooper has resurfaced as a Dallas option, the Browns will take a flier on Johnson. This will mark an interesting Johnson-Kenny Pickett reunion. Pickett’s rookie year famously involved Johnson setting an NFL record for most receptions (86) in a season without a touchdown. Johnson scored five TDs in 2023, but the Steelers had begun to sour on Pickett by then. Pickett is now one of four QBs in the picture for the Browns, who drafted Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders after re-signing Joe Flacco.

The Browns have Jerry Jeudy entrenched as their top receiver, with Cedric Tillman Jr. tentatively in place as their No. 2 option. The team has also not re-signed Elijah Moore, who served as a slot performer following a 2023 trade.

Johnson, who totaled at least 680 receiving yards each year from 2019-23 (including a 1,161-yard 2021 to help the Steelers to the playoffs), has a resume that would support a starting role. But he will need to prove he can be relied upon again. It is interesting that Cleveland would make this move with two rookie QBs set to begin development, but Johnson has been one of the league’s better separators. If he can reestablish himself as a usable piece, the Browns would benefit.

Nikhil Mehta contributed to this post.