-
Jamison Hensley, ESPN writer
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh was vague about the future of recently acquired Diontae Johnson, a day after the wide receiver sat out Sunday’s 24-19 loss to Philadelphia. Eagles.
“At this point, I’ll have to wait to clarify,” Harbaugh said Monday. “There are some moving parts that we’re going to have to figure out and explore and just see where we are. I know that’s not the answer you want, but it’s the best I can do to be fair to everyone right now.” “
In four games with the Ravens, Johnson has one reception for six yards. He dressed Sunday but did not play, even after starting wide receiver Rashod Bateman left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury.
Harbaugh was noncommittal about whether Johnson would remain with the team.
“We’ll just figure it out [and] “We’ll see where we are over the next few days this week,” said Harbaugh, whose team is off this week.
Johnson, 28, led the Carolina Panthers in receptions (30), receiving yards (357) and touchdown receptions (three) through the first seven games before being traded to Baltimore on October 29. The Ravens sent a fifth-round pick to Carolina. for Johnson and a sixth-round pick. It was considered a low-risk move because the Panthers took on most of Johnson’s remaining salary, leaving Baltimore on the hook for around $625,000.
In Johnson’s first game with the Ravens on November 7, he caught his only pass for Baltimore while playing five snaps. Over his next three games, Johnson was targeted three times without a catch while playing a total of 17 snaps.
After Sunday’s game, quarterback Lamar Jackson said he talked to Johnson about staying locked in after not playing.
“We want him out there,” Jackson said. “He’s a great receiver. We didn’t get him from the Panthers for nothing.”
Johnson, a 2019 third-round pick by the Steelers, has totaled 422 receptions for 4,726 yards and 28 touchdowns for Pittsburgh, Carolina and Baltimore.
Jackson’s top three receivers are Zay Flowers, Bateman and Nelson Agholor. Harbaugh said Bateman’s knee injury is not long-term.
