The Carolina Panthers traded former Pro Bowl Diontae Johnson to the Baltimore Ravens. National Insider for NFL Network Ian Rapoport announced the news on X, formally known as Twitter, on Oct. 29.
As the NFL trade deadline approaches, many wide receivers have been traded over the last few weeks.
Senior NFL Insider for The Athletic Dianna Russini announced the details of Johnson’s trade on X.
The Panthers are receiving a 2025 fifth-round pick, and the Ravens are receiving Johnson and a 2025 sixth-round pick. The Panthers will be covering a portion of Johnson’s contract.
Throughout Johnson’s career, he spent five years with the Pittsburgh Steelers before being traded to the Panthers. After playing just seven games with the Panthers, Johnson now heads to the Ravens.
Since coming into the league in 2019, he has had 421 receptions on 697 targets, 4,720 receiving yards and 28 touchdowns throughout the 84 games that he has played.
In the 2021 season, he made the Pro Bowl with 107 receptions, 1,161 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. These are all career highs that Johnson maintains to this day.
Johnson is one of many players the Panthers have moved. The Panthers continue trading away players to rebuild the team for better playoff prospects. During the offseason, they traded their superstar edge rusher Brian Burns to the New York Giants. With the big Burns trade, trading Johnson is not a surprise considering the Panthers’ strategy to purge the team with trade swaps in hopes of better results. However, the Panthers have many questions that need to be answered. One question looming over fans is whether their 2023 former first overall draft pick, quarterback Bryce Young, can lead their franchise.
After Johnson’s issues with the Steelers, the Panthers thought that trading for Johnson would help Young take the year two leap that they hoped to see from him. The players weren’t connecting as the franchise had hoped, so they benched Young for backup veteran Andy Dalton.
Dalton and Johnson were doing well together, but the Panthers knew that they were not going to make the playoffs with their current record of one and seven as of Oct. 29, and it looks like it is going to trend in the direction of more losses.
As for the Ravens, this was a great move for them. Reigning NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson gets another playmaker on offense. Johnson will help open the field more for their other wide receiver, Zay Flowers, and for star tight end Mark Andrews. They also signed superstar former Tennessee Titan running back Derrick Henry, who is having an amazing season.
The Ravens current record is five and three as of Oct. 29 and will most likely make the playoffs for a chance to win the Super Bowl.
The deal makes sense for both the Panthers and the Ravens. Johnson was traded to a contender for a chance to win a Super Bowl, and the Panthers received draft capital for the upcoming draft.
