CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 Pro Bowl receiver Diontae Johnson knows that he\u2019s running out of chances in the NFL, and that he\u2019s got a golden opportunity to save his career with the Browns, \u2018the only team that hit me up.\u2019<\/p>\n
Not only were the Browns the only team that reached out to Johnson in the offseason after four teams ushered him out the door last year, they gave him the veteran minimum of $1.170 million for one last chance to remain in the league.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a far cry from what some of his friends in the NFL are making these days, such as Cincinnati\u2019s Ja\u2019Marr Chase at $40.25 million, Minnesota\u2019s Justin Jefferson at $35 million, Dallas\u2019 CeeDee Lamb at $34 million, and Pittsburgh\u2019s DK Metcalf at $33 million. <\/p>\n
It might sound far-fetched for Johnson, 28, to be in that salary stratosphere, but he was right up there with some of them in the 2021 league stats when he made the Pro Bowl as a third-year pro. That season, he caught 107 passes for 1,161 yards and 8 TDs. The year before, he caught 88 passes for 923 yard and 7 TDs \u2014 the kind of numbers that earn a receiver upwards of $30 million-a-year these days. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s where Johnson might be right now had he not embarked on his tumultuous trip around the NFL last season, in which he wore out his welcome with the Steelers, Panthers, Ravens and Texans, getting traded by the first two and waived by the latter two. His brief stints were characterized by losing his cool when he didn\u2019t get the ball enough, or things didn\u2019t go his way.<\/p>\n
But he believes he was misunderstood along the way, and is determined to flip the script. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like to speak on a lot of stuff so I just, everybody\u2019s going to have their opinions,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the end of the day I\u2019m the only one in that room that really knows what\u2019s going on. I can only go off of what I know and then try to put out my best effort. But last year is last year. I\u2019m trying to turn and change that narrative and move the right way and just keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
What will it look like if he\u2019s getting it right?<\/p>\n
\u201cJust play, instead of just thinking about all the other stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cJust play. Make the most of my opportunities when I get in, cheer my teammates on, be a great teammate, stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Besides, he\u2019d much rather be remembered for his Pro Bowl season of 2021, or his second-team All-Pro season as a rookie punt returner in 2019, then his one seemingly flaked-out year, in which he\u2019s been portrayed as a headcase of the highest proportions. <\/p>\n
\u201cOne bad year,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s one year. I had five great seasons in Pittsburgh. I had one year, that doesn\u2019t define me as a player, none of that, my character or none of that. So like I said, everybody\u2019s going to say what they want to say about me, but I know who I am as a person deep down and that\u2019s all that matters to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
If he keeps his head down and works hard, he knows he can get his Pro Bowl career back on track and make up for the lost time \u2014 and money. <\/p>\n
\u201cJust be myself and prove everybody wrong,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s my mindset. Keep going. Don\u2019t worry about the outside noise. Worry about what goes on between these gates. That\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n
But given the fact that he feels he was misunderstood and miscast last season, he doesn\u2019t feel compelled to take any drastic measures to change himself. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo, just come in here with a great attitude,\u201d he said. \u201cBe a great teammate. Be on time and stuff. Do what I\u2019ve got to do and, like I said, the rest is going to take care of itself. Football is football end of the day. Once we get in between the lines, that\u2019s all it\u2019s about.\u201d<\/p>\n
One thing working in his favor is that Browns GM Andrew Berry, who\u2019s known for rescuing players with baggage off the scrapheap, liked him coming out of Toledo in 2019, where the Steelers grabbed him in the third round. Berry often comes back to his faves to give them another chance, and Johnson shared what he had to give.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I bring to the table, how I\u2019m going to move forward and stuff like that,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m doing the right things right now. Just moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
He had another ally in the building in quarterback Kenny Pickett, who put in a good word for him despite Johnson calling for Mason Rudolph to start at the end of 2023. <\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like (Pickett) was probably a part of me coming here and whatnot and just like our relationship goes back to Pittsburgh,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a good relationship. We probably haven\u2019t talked like we normally did before, but (we did) when he reached out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pickett, who played with Johnson in 2022 and 2023 before he was trade to the Eagles last season, spent time between reps with Johnson on Tuesday, helping to get up to speed in the new offense.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust help him any way I can,\u201d Pickett, currently QB1 in the four-way quarterback, said. \u201cI was talking to him a lot today in the field in the two-minute period, going through the play calls with him where he would be if he was at Z or X or F and kind of talking him through each play. So he\u2019s working really hard at it. It\u2019s great to have him here and I know that he\u2019s going to continue to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pickett didn\u2019t follow the bouncing Johnson last season as he landed with team after team. <\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly I didn\u2019t really know what was going on,\u201d Pickett said. \u201cI tried to stay off everything during the season, but listen, I\u2019m really happy that he\u2019s here. I think he can really help us, the things that he can do with his route running and ability. So it\u2019s good to have him here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pickett knows firsthand that Johnson can cut on a dime and juke a cornerback right out of his cleats.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne-on-one, he gets separation,\u201d Pickett said. \u201cI think he does a really good job of getting separation at the line at the top of his routes. In and out of cuts I think is probably his biggest strength. He gets in and out really well, so a lot of those third down, possession-down route running, which you need to be precise at, I think he can bring that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson, who will likely primarily work in the slot, is so good at route-running, he\u2019s right up there with one of the best in the business in Jerry Jeudy, his fellow native Floridian. If the two of them are on the field together?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really pick your poison where you want to go to or whatnot,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cSo just getting open really is going to determine that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those former Florida high school players are a different breed, and stick together. They finish each other\u2019s sentences, and are usually faster and more athletic than most of their peers. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s able to beat man coverage and get open in zone,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI\u2019m familiar with Jerry though, so he\u2019s from Florida too. But like I said, he\u2019s a weapon to have, a good guy to have on the other side. Whoever\u2019s on the opposite side, whether it\u2019s a me or whoever it is, it gives them a chance to get one-on-one opportunities and stuff like that. So like I said, that\u2019s what he brings to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson (5-10, 183) raised some eyebrows locally when he skipped the six organized team activities practices over the previous two weeks. It would\u2019ve been the perfect opportunity for him to get a jump on the install, get to know his teammates, and get some camaraderie down with the quarterbacks, especially in this four-way competition. <\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I had a coach,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we\u2019re all good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Besides, he spent a week here early on in the offseason program, and knows a few other players besides Pickett. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a good relationship with Deshaun Watson, Kenny Pickett, Shedeur (Sanders),\u201d Johnson said. \u201cSo if I need a question or something I can always call or whatever it is. It\u2019s not like I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m doing. I\u2019ve got the playbook and stuff like that and I can study at home, so I\u2019m on top of my stuff too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Participating in voluntary OTAs would\u2019ve been the smart play for Johnson, but now it\u2019s about him proving he can still be the best version of himself from here on out. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still in that form,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a matter whenever I get my opportunities and be able to put it on film.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Browns already know all about Johnson from playing against him for those five years when he was in Pittsburgh. Ironically, he caught only one TD against them in eight meetings (32 of 70 targets, 394 yards). But the Browns 48-37 wild card playoff victory over the Steelers after the 2020 season, he caught 11 of 16 targets from Ben Roethlisberger for 117 yards.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that kind of production he believes he can bring to the Browns.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust another weapon to the receiver room, offense, make plays,\u201d he said. \u201cCould be a help to the young guys and stuff like that. Really just trying to be myself, get back to where I left at and just like I say, made the most of my opportunities whenever they come put it on film. That\u2019s really my main focus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Was he surprised no other teams reached out? <\/p>\n
\u201cThe NFL is a business,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t have any control over that. The Brown\u2019s called and I\u2019m happy to be here and that\u2019s all I\u2019m worried about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson is especially eager to face two of the teams twice that gave up on him last year in the Steelers and Ravens.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, yeah,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know that. I\u2019m looking forward to them, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the Browns not drafting any receivers or signing any big-name ones in free agency, Johnson can surprise all of his critics and remove himself from the endangered receivers list if he can keep his head on straight. <\/p>\n