After a disappointing 2024 season with three different teams, former Houston Texans wide receiver Diontae Johnson surprisingly latched on with a new team after the 2025 NFL Draft.
Last week, Johnson signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Browns to hopefully get his career back on track. At the time of the reported signing, we did not know the terms of the veteran wide receiver’s new deal.
However, on Tuesday, ESPN’s Field Yates reported that Johnson’s deal with the Browns is for the veteran’s minimum ($1.17 million), which includes no guaranteed money.
Diontae Johnson's 1-year contract with the Browns is for the veteran's minimum of $1.17M and does not include any guaranteed money.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 6, 2025
A zero-risk deal for Cleveland, while Johnson will work to reestablish his value at still just 28 years old.
The Browns have nothing to lose with this signing, but Johnson has no room for error after he bounced around the league last year. The veteran wide receiver started the 2024 season with the Carolina Panthers, who acquired him in a trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers last offseason.
But the Panthers sent Johnson packing after seven games, trading him to the Baltimore Ravens ahead of the NFL trade deadline. Johnson did not do much with the Ravens, appearing in four games with one reception (five targets) for six yards.
After suspending Johnson for one game on Dec. 4, the Ravens shockingly parted ways with the veteran wideout two weeks later. However, Johnson wasn’t a free agent for long as the Texans claimed him off waivers three days later.
The veteran wide receiver made his Texans’ debut in Week 18 against the Tennessee Titans, where he had two receptions (four targets) for 12 yards. Johnson played in Houston’s wildcard game against the Los Angeles Chargers, recording one reception for 12 yards.
However, he was waived on Jan. 14 and then picked back up again by the Ravens a month later on Feb. 10, just to become a free agent in March. It’s been a roller coaster ride for the former Texans wide receiver.
That said, he has a chance to prove the doubters wrong in Cleveland, where they need another wide receiver besides Jerry Jeudy. But will Johnson deliver after a tumultuous 2024 season? That’s a question no one knows the answer to right now.