As the NFL runs through all of the different trade options ahead of Tuesday's deadline, one team that has already made their massive deal is the Baltimore Ravens, who acquired Diontae Johnson from the Carolina Panthers.
And yet, according to Adam Schefter, who was breaking down different deals around the deadline for ESPN, there will be at least one familiar face in Baltimore to make Johnson feel welcome, as he's apparently very good friends with Nelson Agholor, who also grew up in Tampa, Florida.
“The big trade this week involved the Carolina Panthers sending wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the Ravens. Johnson will make his Baltimore debut Sunday against the Broncos, but as it turns out, he already feels right at home with fellow Ravens wide receiver Nelson Agholor,” Schefter wrote for ESPN.
“Both Agholor and Johnson are from Tampa, Florida, and have been close for years. Though they are three years apart in age, with Agholor being 31 and Johnson 28, the receivers got to know each other through youth sports during their teenage years and went to high schools on opposite sides of town. Since then, they've remained close and train together in the offseason. After Johnson was traded to Baltimore this week, he even stayed at Agholor's house.”
On one hand, it must be nice for Johnson to link back up with Agholor after exclusively being on different teams so far during their professional careers. With that being said, things might get just a little awkward moving forward for the dynamic duo, as Johnson was almost certainly brought to town to start, and Agholor has mostly been used as the Ravens' WR3 behind Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers. Granted, more than three wide receivers can effectively work within an offense, but still, hopefully, their relationship can last if Johnson ends up benefitting from Agholor's former production.
Diontae Johnson reveals how he learned he was traded to the Ravens
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Speaking with reporters on Wednesday immediately after his big trade, Johnson revealed to reporters how he found out about the news and his immediate reaction of having to hop a flight a few hours north to Charm City.
“I was just at the crib when my agent called me and said … I talked to the GM Eric [DeCosta] before I came here just to chop it up with him, and he knows I'm ready to be here and excited to be here with him and just getting ready to work,” Johnson told reporters. “But once I found out where I was going, I was excited. A lot of stuff I get to just …” (exhales) “Sigh of relief. So, I'm ready to work.”
While that phone call was almost certainly career-altering, one has to assume at least one more followed closely behind Agholor, as he probably still needed a place to crash when he landed in Baltimore. No matter how the rest of the season shakes out, if the Ravens soar, drop, or remain in the middle of the pack, it's nice to know that some connections are bigger than football.
