{"id":12689,"date":"2024-12-20T08:26:11","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T08:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=12689"},"modified":"2024-12-20T08:26:11","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T08:26:11","slug":"ravens-make-diontae-johnson-decision-vs-steelers-amid-wr-injuries-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=12689","title":{"rendered":"Ravens Make Diontae Johnson Decision vs. Steelers Amid WR Injuries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2186896109-e1734647547350.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Rashod Bateman and Diontae Johnson\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">The Baltimore Ravens made a big call about Diontae Johnson for Week 16, amid several injuries among their wide receiver corps.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/baltimore-ravens\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Baltimore Ravens<\/a>\u00a0still aren\u2019t ready to welcome\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/diontae-johnson\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Diontae Johnson<\/a>\u00a0back into the fold, a decision that looks risky amid a slew of potential injuries at wide receiver ahead of Week 16\u2019s critical clash against AFC North rivals the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/pittsburgh-steelers\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That game takes place on Saturday, December 21 at M&amp;T Bank Stadium, but the Ravens could be without\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/rashod-bateman\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Rashod Bateman<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/nelson-agholor\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Nelson Agholor<\/a>. Both wideouts appeared on the same injury report as Johnson.<\/p>\n<p>The report showed Johnson is out, while Agholor didn\u2019t practice on Thursday because of a concussion, per\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AdamSchefter\/status\/1869851676137660456\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter<\/a>. Bateman\u2019s name was also in the mix, with one of quarterback Lamar Jackson\u2019s favorite targets dealing with a foot issue and listed as \u201cquestionable,\u201d along with Agholor.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-content entry-content\">\n<p>Perhaps the Ravens are confident one or both of Bateman and Agholor will be good to go on game-day. That would explain keeping Johnson out of the fray, despite his return from a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/baltimore-ravens\/suspended-diontae-johnson-frustrated-1-reason\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">team-imposed, one-game suspension<\/a>, out of the fray.<\/p>\n<p>The Ravens will regret this thinking if they are down even one veteran wide receiver against an opponent who has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/baltimore-ravens\/marlon-humphrey-speaks-out-record-steelers\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">frequently had their number<\/a>\u00a0in recent seasons.<\/p>\n<h2>Diontae Johnson Still Not Making His Way Back<\/h2>\n<p>Any thoughts of Johnson quickly being reintegrated into the Ravens offense were dashed when his suspension ended after Week 15. That\u2019s when head coach John Harbaugh contradicted a report from an NFL insider by confirming Johnson would be\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/baltimore-ravens\/diontae-johnson-update-contradicts-nfl-insider\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">held out of team activities<\/a>\u00a0this week.<\/p>\n<p>Harbaugh had left the possibility open for Johnson to still return later in the week, but that won\u2019t happen now. A return would have been timely with the Ravens set to face Johnson\u2019s former team, a Steelers outfit that\u2019s won eight of the last nine meetings between the two familiar foes.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson had helped the Steelers maintain their recent dominance in the rivalry by scoring a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NFL\/status\/1743781265495535874\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">71-yard touchdown<\/a>\u00a0at the Ravens expense in Week 18 last season.<\/p>\n<p>The Ravens were hoping for plays like this when they\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/baltimore-ravens\/trade-diontae-johnson-panthers-better-separators\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">sent a fifth-round pick<\/a>\u00a0in the 2025 NFL draft to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/carolina-panthers\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Carolina Panthers<\/a> to acquire the 28-year-old before this season\u2019s trade deadline.<\/p>\n<p>Things haven\u2019t work out as planned, but Johnson\u2019s issues have been offset by Bateman\u2019s emergence.<\/p>\n<h2>Ravens Need Rashod Bateman Healthy for Steelers<\/h2>\n<p>A lack of playing time has left Johnson frustrated, but getting on the field is bound to be tough when Bateman has been thriving. The 31st player drafted in 2021 has dealt with a myriad of injuries, including worryingly,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.draftsharks.com\/fantasy\/injury-history\/rashod-bateman\/10776\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">foot problems<\/a>, but Bateman has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/baltimore-ravens\/lamar-jackson-names-rashod-bateman-wr1\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">retained the faith of Jackson<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/baltimore-ravens\/lamar-jackson-rashod-bateman-breakout-giants\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">support has been repaid<\/a>\u00a0by Bateman cementing himself as one of the league\u2019s most prolific deep threats. His status as a vertical playmaker was confirmed by a 49-yard touchdown grab against the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/new-york-giants\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Giants<\/a> last week.<\/p>\n<p>It was one of two scores credited to Bateman, but this particular touchdown gave him \u201cthree receiving TDs this season of 40+ yards,\u201d trailing only\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/cincinnati-bengals\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Cincinnati Bengals<\/a>\u00a0Pro Bowler\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/jamarr-chase\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Ja\u2019Marr Chase<\/a>, per\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jonas_shaffer\/status\/1868367071912022527\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">The Baltimore Banner\u2019s Jonas Shaffer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That number shows Bateman\u2019s value in this offense. Agholor can work between the numbers and knows how to get open in the red zone, but Bateman gives Jackson sudden-strike capability.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s something he\u2019ll need against a Pittsburgh defense that\u2019s consistently managed to make the two-time NFL MVP\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/baltimore-ravens\/lamar-jackson-fixed-biggest-problem-steelers\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">appear ordinary<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Baltimore Ravens made a big call about Diontae Johnson for Week 16, amid several injuries among their wide receiver corps. The\u00a0Baltimore Ravens\u00a0still aren\u2019t ready to welcome\u00a0Diontae&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ravens Make Diontae Johnson Decision vs. Steelers Amid WR Injuries - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=12689\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ravens Make Diontae Johnson Decision vs. Steelers Amid WR Injuries - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Baltimore Ravens made a big call about Diontae Johnson for Week 16, amid several injuries among their wide receiver corps. 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