Diontae Johnson has signed a contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The wide receiver agreed to play for two more years at an average of $18.3 million per year. In total, Johnson’s new contract is worth $39.5 million with bonuses, including a guaranteed $27 million.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Kimberley Martin reported that the 26-year-old signed the contract at the Steelers training camp after a week of negotiations.
This is a huge give on Diontae's side as his old money would have been $2,954,118 with the 17th game check added. If $19M is indeed the Year 0 number, that's hugely in the Steelers' favor. #Steelers #NFL
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) August 4, 2022
Johnson, who is in the final year of his rookie contract, is one of the three wide receivers from the 2019 draft class to have signed a new contract. Earlier, the San Francisco 49ers signed with Deebo Samuel and the Seattle Seahawks with DK Metcalf.
Steelers’ offseason
Steelers general manager Omar Khan said Tuesday he wanted Johnson to play with the Steelers for a long time. Johnson has played for the team since he was selected 66th overall in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Last season, Johnson led with 1,161 yards on 107 receptions and scored eight touchdowns for the Steelers.
“We want Diontae, and we’re excited to have Diontae as part of this team,” Khan said. “We hope he’s going to be a Steeler for a long time.”
Khan said that Johnson was an important player for the Steelers. He said it was Johnson’s ability that made the Steelers offer the contract extension.
Diontae Johnson celebrating his new contract with a sandwich in the St. Vincent cafeteria (via Marcus Allen’s IG) pic.twitter.com/EFamunySwS
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) August 4, 2022
According to sources, Johnson participated in individual drills at the Steelers’ training camp. He reportedly underwent one-on-one training with the coaching staff. He also worked on his catching with Steelers quarterbacks. It has been predicted that Johnson will play in the NFL preseason match against the Seahawks on August 13.
In an episode of The Terrible Podcast, Dave Bryan said he had predicted that Johnson would sign the deal. Bryan said it was a good deal because Johnson would earn $19 million this year compared to his previous rookie contract worth $2,9 million. He said Johnson had the opportunity to secure his position in coach Mike Tomlin’s offensive strategy.
Bryan said Johnson’s extension gave the team an advantage. He said the Steelers had secured the best option for the team’s passing games for the next three seasons. Bryan said Johnson’s presence as a starter would give the Steelers more time to evaluate their younger wide receivers for future offensive plans.
In the last two seasons, Johnson mostly received passing attempts (313 Att) from Ben Roethlisberger, who no longer plays in the league. Bryan said that Ben’s retirement would be the opportunity for Johnson to prove himself.
Fewest yards per target since 2020 among all wide receivers with 100+ targets:
James Washington (6.8)
Diontae Johnson (6.7)
Robby Anderson (6.6)
Jalen Reagor (6.3)
JuJu Smith-Schuster (6.2)A Big Ben tweet disguised as Diontae slander disguised as a Washington free agency tweet
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) January 19, 2022
According to Schefter, Steelers will soon sign extension deals with other players, including quarterback Mitch Trubisky, right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor, and inside linebacker Myles Jack.
Bryan said that the Steelers did not need to add other wide receivers, but the team had to watch how their new starting quarterback would play to accommodate Johnson’s ability to score touchdowns for the upcoming season.
Throughout his career, Johnson has recorded 254 receptions with 2,764 receiving yards. He was also named to the Second-team All-Pro 2019 and NFL Pro Bowl in 2021.