Steelers' Diontae Johnson Placed on IR with Hamstring Injury; WR Out At Least 4 Games

The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed wide receiver Diontae Johnson on injured reserve with a hamstring injury suffered during his team's 30-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 10.

He will miss at least four games and is eligible to return on Oct. 22 at the Los Angeles Rams.

Johnson, who joined the Steelers after they selected him with a third-round pick in the 2019 draft, has made 343 catches for 3,694 yards and 20 touchdowns in his career. He earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2021 after a 107-catch, 1,161-yard, eight-touchdown campaign.

George Pickens and Allen Robinson will be the team's top two wide receivers in Johnson's absence. Pittsburgh also has Calvin Austin III, Miles Boykin and Gunner Olszewski on the wideout depth chart.

The Steelers' offense got off to a rough start in Week 1, with their lone points occurring in the second quarter following a Pat Freiermuth touchdown grab. Johnson was second on the team with 48 receiving yards despite leaving early.

They'll look to bounce back Monday evening against the Cleveland Browns, but that may be a tall order against a Myles Garrett-led defense that allowed just three points in a big win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Still, the Steelers' offense showed significant promise in the preseason, and a season-opening game against Nick Bosa and the NFL's top-scoring defense in 2022 is a hard task for any team.

We'll see how they perform minus Johnson soon enough when the Steelers host the Browns for a Monday nighter at 8:15 p.m. ET.