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Diontae Johnson is back with the Ravens. Kind of.
The Crows claimed Johnson today after he was Placed on waivers by the Texans yesterday. But under NFL rules, Johnson is ineligible to play for the rest of the postseason and isn’t officially listed on the Ravens’ roster until after the Super Bowl. Johnson will become a free agent in March, so he won’t really be a part of the Ravens in any meaningful sense.
So why does Johnson claim? From the Ravens’ perspective, it likely has to do with compensatory picks. If Johnson signs with another team in free agency, he will be considered a player lost by the Ravens in the compensatory pick formula, which awards picks to teams that lose more players than they sign. So maybe Johnson’s contract with another team could result in the Ravens getting a late-round compensatory pick in 2026. The Ravens are always one of the more forward-thinking teams in the NFL when it comes to compensatory picks, and this is another example of that.
Johnson was a third-round pick by the Steelers in 2019, and at times looked like an extremely talented and promising receiver. But his career took a downturn in 2024, when he was first traded from the Steelers to the Panthers, then traded from the Panthers to the Ravens, then cut by the Ravens and claimed by the Texans, and now cut by the Texans and claimed by the Ravens.
He will try to sign somewhere in 2025. Depending on what type of contract he signs, the Ravens could benefit in 2026.
