Since the Baltimore Ravens acquired Diontae Johnson from the Carolina Panthers before the NFL Trade Deadline, his role on the offense has surprisingly been very small. From Weeks 9 to 12, Johnson has only been a part of 39 total offensive snaps as a member of the Ravens. To the surprise of many, the former Pro Bowler did not play a single snap in their Week 13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, even though Rashod Bateman exited the game in the third quarter and did not return, as many fans wondered why he didn’t play.
Why didn’t the Baltimore Ravens newcomer play?
It turns out that the Ravens wanted Diontae Johnson to play against the Philadelphia Eagles, but he refused to participate on offense. As a result, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the front office decided to suspend Johnson for their Week 15 game against the New York Giants without pay for conduct detrimental to the team. Since they have a BYE in Week 14, they will have to wait until Week 15 to suspend him.
The Baltimore Ravens GM released a statement regarding the subject matter
“We have made the difficult decision to suspend Diontae Johnson for our upcoming game against the New York Giants for conduct detrimental to the team,” Eric DeCosta said, via the team’s website.
“Diontae’s suspension stems from refusing to enter our game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
” We will have no further comments on this matter going forward.”
