Diontae Johnson Suspended By Ravens for Giants Game; Refused to Enter Loss vs. Eagles

The Baltimore Ravens suspended wide receiver Diontae Johnson for one game after refusing to enter his team's home game against the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday.

Ravens executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta released a statement on the matter (h/t Mike Garafolo of NFL Network).

The Ravens have a bye this week, so Johnson will sit his team's Sunday, Dec. 15 road game against the New York Giants.

Johnson landed in Baltimore after the Carolina Panthers traded him and a 2025 sixth-round pick to the Ravens for a 2025 fifth-rounder.

It's not clear why Johnson refused to enter the game, but it's well-known that the six-year veteran went from being a featured player to barely seeing the field at all.

In Carolina, Johnson caught 30 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns on 58 targets in seven games.

In Baltimore, Johnson has been active for five games, playing four. He has snagged one pass for six yards on five targets. Per NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Johnson has played just 39 snaps total.

Johnson essentially fell to fifth on the wide receiver depth chart. Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman have clearly been the top two wideouts on the roster, but there was presumably room for Johnson to be the WR3. However, Nelson Agholor has kept hold of that role, with Tylan Wallace also getting more snaps than Johnson.

Bateman suffered a sore knee against the Eagles and left the game early, so there was a chance for Johnson to enter the game and make an impact in a massive game against one of the NFL's best teams.

For whatever reason, Johnson decided against doing that, and now he'll be sitting for the Giants game. And at this point, it's hard seeing Johnson making much of an impact at all for Baltimore as it fights for the playoffs and an AFC North title.