{"id":52776,"date":"2025-06-02T03:59:17","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T03:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=52776"},"modified":"2025-06-02T03:59:17","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T03:59:17","slug":"ravens-low-risk-gamble-labeled-worst-trade-of-past-10-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=52776","title":{"rendered":"Ravens\u2019 \u2018Low-Risk Gamble\u2019 Labeled Worst Trade of Past 10 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"l-article__header\"><\/header>\n<div class=\"l-article__meta\">\n<div class=\"l-article__meta-item l-article__meta-item--dates\">\n<ul class=\"c-meta c-meta--post c-meta--list c-meta--dates\">\n<li class=\"c-meta__item c-meta__item--updated\"><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"l-article__content\">\n<div class=\"c-content entry-content\">\n<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2182692271.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2182692271.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2182692271.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2182692271.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Seven months after trading for Diontae Johnson, Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox labels the trade as the Ravens' worst in the last 10 years.\" width=\"780\" height=\"520\" data-img-load-time=\"886\" data-dom-ready-time=\"908\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Diontae Johnson #18 of the Baltimore Ravens warms up prior to a game against the Denver Broncos at M&amp;T Bank Stadium on November 03, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Through the first seven weeks of last season,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/diontae-johnson\/\">D<\/a>iontae Johnson\u00a0led the\u00a0Panthers\u00a0with 30 receptions for 357 yards and 3 touchdowns. The\u00a0Ravens\u00a0needed wide receiver depth and the sixth-year receiver seemed to be a solid fit. But, the benefits from the trade never materialized for Baltimore, and severely impacted Johnson\u2019s value as a free agent. Now, seven months later,\u00a0Bleacher Report\u2018s Kristopher Knox labels the trade as the Ravens\u2019 worst in the last 10 years. \u201cNothing is precisely what the Ravens got out of this trade,\u201d writes Knox.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Trade Was a \u2018Low-Risk Gamble\u2019, but Didn\u2019t Pay Off<\/h2>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5198933\/element\/1\" class=\"MuiBox-root css-6emr8c\">\n<p>When bringing in a fresh face at wide receiver, it can take some time to build chemistry. So, Johnson played\u00a0limited snaps\u00a0during his first game in Baltimore and\u00a0Lamar Jackson\u00a0did not target him. That wasn\u2019t too surprising, considering he had been in the building for less than a week at that point.<\/p>\n<p>What was surprising, though, was how quickly everything fell apart in Baltimore. During the Ravens\u2019 Week 13 loss to the\u00a0Eagles\u00a0\u2013 Johnson\u2019s fifth game with the team \u2013 he\u00a0refused to enter the game. As Knox writes, Johnson \u201cessentially exiled himself\u201d by refusing to enter the game, ending his time in Baltimore.<\/p>\n<p>After the game, Jackson reportedly spoke with Johnson \u201cabout staying locked in after not playing,\u201d according to\u00a0ESPN\u2018s Jamison Hensley.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want him out there,\u201d Jackson said, according to Hensley. \u201cHe\u2019s a great receiver. We didn\u2019t get him from the Panthers for nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even though the Ravens only gave up a fifth-round pick for a \u201clow-risk gamble,\u201d Bleacher Report\u2019s Kristopher Knox gave a blunt assessment, writing \u201cNothing is precisely what the Ravens got out of this trade.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Baltimore Received Praise After Deal Was Announced<\/h2>\n<p>Following the trade, the Ravens\u00a0highlighted the praise\u00a0that they received from about 20 different reporters, writers and media personalities. So, it\u2019s fair to say that, at the time, the consensus was that trade was a success for Baltimore.<\/p>\n<p>In the article highlighting the positive comments, Ravens writer Kevin Eck called it \u201ca shrewd move,\u201d praising GM Eric DeCosta for gaining another offensive weapon at a discount.<\/p>\n<p>One of the reasons writers had praised the Ravens was that their trade compensation had the potential to improve along with Johnson.\u00a0Baltimore was in line to receive a compensatory pick in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, as long as Johnson signed a contract worth an average of $5 million per year.\u00a0ESPN\u2018s Adam Schefter said that \u201cshould be a layup,\u201d based on where the wide receiver market was at the time.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_1_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-1 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_1\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Unfortunately for both Johnson and the Ravens, his production failed to materialize. Following his exit from the Ravens, Johnson joined the\u00a0Houston Texans\u00a0for their final game of the regular season. Houston had already lost\u00a0Stefon Diggs\u00a0to a torn ACL against the\u00a0Colts\u00a0in Week 8. As they began their playoff push,\u00a0Tank Dell\u00a0suffered a gruesome injury during their Week 16 loss to the\u00a0Chiefs.<\/p>\n<p>He was targeted just 4 times and managed just 2 receptions for 12 yards during the Texans\u2019 Week 18 win. Johnson played even fewer snaps during the Texans\u2019 Wild Card win over the\u00a0Chargers. Ultimately, he caused\u00a0more headaches than he was worth.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_2_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-2 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_2\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Could Johnson Benefit From a Fresh Start in 2025?<\/h2>\n<p>Earlier this month, Johnson signed a 1-year, $1.17 million contract with the\u00a0Browns, according to\u00a0Spotrac. It is a veteran minimum contract with no guarantees, meaning Cleveland will likely have a short leash in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, Johnson has already made headlines as a\u00a0no-show at OTAs. So, it\u2019s clear that the Ravens\u2019 deal to bring him in last season was their worst trade in recent memory. But, we\u2019ll see if he can turn things around in 2025.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_3_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-3 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_3\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-content entry-content\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"l-article__author-bio\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Diontae Johnson #18 of the Baltimore Ravens warms up prior to a game against the Denver Broncos at M&amp;T Bank Stadium on November 03, 2024 in&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":52777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - 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