Wide receiver Diontae Johnson was placed on waivers by the Texans on Monday, according to multiple reports.
Johnson will get a fresh start in Houston, looking to fill the void left by the loss of Tank Dell, who suffered a torn ACL and dislocated patella in Sunday's game against the Chiefs, leaving an already thin receiver other than Nico Collins. The layer will further expand. .
Johnson's time with the Ravens in the seven weeks since Baltimore acquired the receiver in a trade with the Panthers on Oct. 29 has been far from perfect.
The 28-year-old played just 39 snaps with the Ravens before being cut Friday, with just one catch for six yards.
But the bigger problem was that he was suspended from one game for refusing to play in Week 13's game against the Eagles, and was excused from team activities last week, sending him off the field.
Before his trade from Carolina, Johnson had 30 catches for 357 yards and three touchdowns this season.
In five seasons with the Steelers, he had 391 receptions for 4,363 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Johnson's only 1,000+ yard season came in 2021.
An interesting twist to the whole scenario is that the Texans and Ravens will play on Christmas Day.
The Chiefs, Chargers and Steelers were considered potential destinations for Johnson, who was waived Friday.
But when Dell's situation became this dire, the Texans clearly needed a receiver.
“It hurts. It hurts. We know how big of an asset he was to this team,” Collins said of Dell, ESPN reported. “But it's hard to lose one of your brothers. My dog is recovering quickly. Mentally he's going through a difficult time, but we have to keep going and keep climbing for him. ”
