Steelers send Diontae Johnson to Panthers in surprising trade: reports

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The Pittsburgh Steelers are sending away veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers, ESPN reported Tuesday. 

The Steelers are sending Johnson and a seventh-round pick to the Panthers in exchange for defensive back Donte Jackson and a sixth-round pick.

The Panthers are looking to build around quarterback Bryce Young, their No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, and getting him another wide receiver this offseason was paramount after only Adam Thielen could be relied upon last year. 

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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson (18) looks on during the regular season NFL football game between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers on November 12, 2023 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA. (Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

It was a season of lows all around for Carolina, who finished with the NFL’s worst record at 2-15. Among those lows was the worst pass attack in the league, as the Panthers averaged 161.2 yards through the air per game. 

Free agents usually are not keen to signing with teams that need as much help as the Panthers do, so new GM Dan Morgan had to get creative. And he does so with a talent that has had an interesting time in Pittsburgh. 

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Johnson has spent his first five NFL seasons with the Steelers, where he quickly became a reliable target for the now-retired Ben Roethlisberger, especially in 2021 when he caught 107 of his 169 targets for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns. He earned his one and only Pro Bowl that year. 

But since