Baltimore Ravens and Diontae Johnson ‘mutually’ agree to ‘excuse’ wide receiver from team activities following suspension
Diontae Johnson will not participate in team activities this week.
By Matias Grez, CNN
(CNN) — The Baltimore Ravens and Diontae Johnson “have mutually agreed” to excuse the wide receiver from team activities this week, the franchise said in a statement.
The Ravens suspended Johnson for one game on December 4 for “conduct detrimental to the team” after he refused to enter the Week 13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on December 1.
As Baltimore held a bye in Week 14, Johnson sat out Sunday’s win over the New York Giants and it was expected that he would return to team activities this week.
However, the wideout will now also miss the preparations for Saturday’s home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, one of his former teams.
“What I foresee really, to be honest with you, and all I’m really thinking about right now is Pittsburgh and getting our team ready for Pittsburgh,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh replied when asked if he could see Johnson returning next week, per ESPN.
“So, he won’t be here this week and next week will take care of itself.”
Saturday’s game is crucial for the Ravens with Baltimore aiming to tie Pittsburgh – currently sitting at 10-4 – at the top of the AFC North; a win for the Steelers would seal the division title.
“I know you guys want to hear the story,” Harbaugh replied when asked why the Ravens opted to excuse Johnson instead of releasing him. “There’s a lot of moving parts. There are reasons for doing things that are front office type reasons.
“Do I want to sit here and get into all the different calculations that Eric (DeCosta) makes? I really don’t. I want to think about Pittsburgh and our team get ready for Pittsburgh and the guys who are going to be here playing against Pittsburgh. That’s my focus 100%.”
Johnson was traded to the Ravens from the Carolina Panthers on October 29 but has managed just one catch for six yards with his new team.
The news comes after the San Francisco 49ers suspended linebacker De’Vondre Campbell for three games – the rest of the regular season – after he refused to enter his team’s game in the third quarter of a 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.
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