Diontae Johnson and the Baltimore Ravens take a break.
The Ravens announced Monday that Johnson has been excused from team activities following a one-game suspension for refusing to enter a game. The Ravens announced Johnson’s status in a one-word statement.
“We have mutually agreed with Diontae Johnson to excuse him from team activities this week,” the statement read.
Head coach John Harbaugh had this to say when asked about Johnson’s status in his Monday press conference ahead of Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers:
“The only thing I’m really thinking about right now is Pittsburgh and getting our team ready for Pittsburgh,” Harbaugh said. by The Athletic. “He won’t be here this week and next week it will take care of itself.
Johnson is coming off a one-game suspension during Baltimore’s win Sunday over the New York Giants for conduct detrimental to the team. The Ravens announced Johnson’s suspension last Wednesday with a statement that Johnson refused to enter the Dec. 1 game against the Philadelphia Eagles that Baltimore lost 24-19.
“We have made the difficult decision to suspend Diontae Johnson for our upcoming game against the New York Giants for conduct detrimental to the team,” read a Dec. 4 statement from general manager Eric DeCosta. “Diontae’s suspension is due to him refusing to enter our game against the Philadelphia Eagles.”
Harbaugh previously declined to clarify that Johnson would remain on the Ravens roster during his Dec. 2 news conference. That was after Johnson had a healthy DNP against the Eagles, but before the Eagles revealed that he had refused to enter the game.
“We’ll just figure it out and see where we are in the next few days and this week,” Harbaugh said.
Now Johnson has been suspended for one game and given the vague designation of mutually agreeing to be excused from team activities. The Ravens have so far declined to address Johnson’s long-term status with the team. But Monday’s statement makes it clear that he will not be active for Saturday’s game.
The Ravens acquired Johnson in October from the Carolina Panthers to bolster a wide receiver room that includes Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman. Johnson was Carolina’s leading receiver at the time with 30 receptions for 357 yards and three touchdowns in seven games.
Johnson has been active for five games, including one start, since joining the Ravens. He has been targeted five times and has one reception for six yards.