Ravens waive WR Diontae Johnson after tumultuous tenure

The Baltimore Ravens decided to waive wide receiver Diontae Johnson on Friday evening, ending his brief stint (four weeks) with the franchise in which he was a non-factor. Since signing with the Ravens, he only had one catch for six yards. The news of his release was relayed on Friday evening by Adam Schefter of ESPN. Before joining Baltimore, he was on the Carolina Panthers.

His time in Baltimore came to an end after he was recently suspended for conduct detrimental to the team. In a press release, Ravens executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta said the decision to suspend Johnson stemmed from him refusing to enter their game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Johnson, 28, did not play a single snap in the 24-19 defeat despite being active and fellow wideout Rashod Bateman going down with a knee injury during the third quarter.

Johnson, came over to Carolina in an offseason trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and quickly cemented himself as the Panthers’ top wideout. The star wideout did not play in Sunday’s 28-14 Week 8 road defeat to the Denver Broncos (5-3) due to a rib injury, led Carolina with 30 receptions for 357 yards and three touchdowns.

He went from one of the league’s worst offenses in Carolina, to the league’s best in Baltimore. The Ravens lead the NFL averaging 452.1 yards per game and were second with 30.3 points per game. Baltimore had the No. 5 passing attack, with quarterback Lamar Jackson on pace to win his third MVP.

The Ravens already had an explosive offense. They brought in Johnson to a skill group which included Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely. Baltimore also had the No. 1 ground game in the NFL led by the league’s leading rusher in Derrick Henry. Things simply didn’t work out for the former Toledo star in Baltimore. And now he’s looking for another franchise to work for.

On3’s Nick Geddes also contributed to this article.