Ravens waive WR Diontae Johnson, ending their unproductive partnership

The Ravens have waived wide receiver Diontae Johnson, ending an embarrassing and unproductive partnership after less than two months.

Johnson, who will end his Ravens tenure with more games missed (two) than receptions (one), can be claimed off waivers Monday with just two weeks remaining in the regular season.

The Ravens traded a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers for Johnson and a 2025 sixth-round pick in late October, hoping he’d bolster their receiving corps. But he finished with just one catch on five targets for 6 yards in four games.

His time can be defined more by what he didn’t do than what he did.

Johnson was suspended for the Ravens’ win Sunday over the New York Giants after “refusing to enter our game against the Philadelphia Eagles” in Week 13, according to a statement attributed to Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta. Johnson and the Ravens then “mutually agreed” the receiver would be excused from team activities this week, sidelining him for Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But the Ravens receiving room, healthy through the first 15 weeks of the season, took several blows during the second week of Johnson’s absence. Nelson Agholor missed the whole week of practices with a concussion, and Rashod Bateman injured his foot during Wednesday’s practice. Agholor was ruled out Friday. Bateman’s status is in the air, but he didn’t practice and was wearing a boot Thursday.

This would have been the perfect time for Johnson to step in. Instead, the Ravens waived him and used the opened space to elevate defensive back Desmond King (who returns punts) and wide receiver Anthony Miller from the practice squad.

While the Ravens came into the season with pretty clear No. 1 and 2 receivers in Zay Flowers and Bateman, it seemed Johnson would easily slide in as the No. 3 receiver in Baltimore.

Behind the top two receivers, the Ravens had a revolving cast of contributors, including Agholor, Tylan Wallace and rookie Devontez Walker. Johnson, an experienced and talented receiver, could have taken ownership of that No. 3 spot.

It was always going to be a step down from his role with the Panthers, for whom he was by far the top receiver, especially because the Ravens’ targets are also spread out among three tight ends and running back Justice Hill. But it would have been a role on a much better team with a much better quarterback.

In addition to an opportunity to work himself into the lineup, Johnson had the chance to establish himself as the go-to backup if anything happened to the other receivers.

But he squandered all of the above. When given opportunities in games, Johnson didn’t capitalize. At first, that could be excused because he was learning the playbook and learning to jell with his teammates.

But, by the third and fourth weeks, he still wasn’t making plays. And it seemed something more was going on. He appeared frustrated in postgame locker rooms, and the two throws to him in the game against his former team, the Steelers, felt forced.

Then he didn’t play a snap against the Eagles. Interestingly, he appeared less frustrated after that game as he talked to Jackson and running back Derrick Henry in the locker room. Coach John Harbaugh was vague about Johnson’s situation, saying, “Yes, I’m not really ready to comment on that right now. I will be, [but I] just don’t have enough information right now to talk about that.”

Three days later, the Ravens announced they had suspended Johnson because he refused to play in the game. That was despite Bateman leaving that game with an injury.

Harbaugh declined to comment further, but players said they’d welcome him back, and his nameplate remained up in the locker room.

Johnson’s suspension rolled into a strange “mutual” agreement that he wouldn’t participate in team activities for a week. That would have carried over through a second game, but Johnson didn’t survive on the roster that long.

In the exact situation where it seems like he could have stepped up and had his breakout Ravens moment, he instead found himself looking for a new team. Meanwhile, his nameplate will easily be switched for another player willing to grind and seize any opportunity the Ravens give him.

This story has been updated.