The wide receiver was too cold
You would be forgiven for already forgetting that wide receiver Diontae Johnson was with the Ravens for a stint last season. The former Pittsburgh Steeler and Carolina Panther had quite an interesting stay in Baltimore after arriving via trade at the trade deadline. Just a few weeks after joining a Ravens team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, Johnson was suspended due to refusing to enter a game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
While on the Sports and Suits podcast recently, Johnson revealed his thought process for the bizarre decision, citing the cold weather as his reasoning.
“I wasn’t getting into no run plays, no passing plays or nothing,” Johnson said. “It was cold. End of the third, going into the fourth, they were like, ‘Tae, we need you.’ I was like, ‘Nah, I don’t think it’s a good idea for me.’ Like, my legs are already ice cold and I didn’t wanna go out there and put bad stuff on film. It’s not like I didn’t wanna go into the game, but leading up to this point, I had been through so much… I told them I’m not finna go in, so I just sat on the bench, and that’s when they suspended me.”
Johnson was later released by Baltimore following his suspension. The former Pro Bowler was then claimed by the Houston Texans, but that did not last long either, as the Texans ended up releasing Johnson just a few weeks later. In an unexpected move, the Ravens then claimed Johnson, although he was not eligible to play for the remainder of the season as he would not be awarded to Baltimore until after the Super Bowl due NFL rules. The potential of a future compensatory pick if Johnson signed a notable deal elsewhere following the season was the reasoning behind the move.
Johnson signed a one-year, $1.17 million deal with the Cleveland Browns in April.