Pittsburgh Steelers place receiver Diontae Johnson on injured reserve
After leaving the Steelers Week 1 matchup versus the San Francisco 49ers with a hamstring injury, Pittsburgh has officially placed wide receiver Diontae Johnson on the injured reserve.
Johnson had three catches on six targets for 48 yards in the Steelers’ opening of the season until the third quarter, going down and grabbing his hamstring following a 26-yard catch and run.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that he’d miss multiple weeks due to the injury, but Pittsburgh placing him on the injured reserve guarantees that he’ll miss at least four Weeks of action for the Steelers.
Along with Johnson being put on the injured reserve, the Steelers made various additional roster moves on Monday, also placing running back Anthony McFarland Jr. on the injured reserve and promoting running back Qadree Ollison to the team’s 53-man roster from the practice squad.
“I just put my foot in the ground,” Johnson said Thursday regarding his inury. “Fluke incident, it just gave out on me. I can’t do nothing about that.”
The news comes ahead of the Steelers’ Week 2 Monday Night Football matchup versus the Cleveland Browns, as the Steelers will have to rely on receivers like George Pickens and Allen Robinson to pick up the slack in the passing game.
Johnson was in the midst of his fifth season with the Steelers before going down with injury, emerging as the team’s number one wideout as soon as he arrived in Pittsburgh as a rookie. The Steelers selected him with the No. 66 overall pick in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Toledo, making an instant impact his his first season with the team leading the offense in receptions.
He’s led the Steelers in receiving yards in his last three seasons with the team, racking up 3,694 yards and 20 touchdowns on 343 receptions throughout his career, also earning a Pro Bowl selection in 2021.
McFarland joins Johnson on the injured reserve after suffering from a knee injury, not receiving any carries in Week 1 for the Steelers but recording two receptions for 11 yards.
He was a member of the Steelers 2020 draft class, selected fourth round, and has appeared in 15 games during his three seasons with the team. In that span, he’s had 42 carries for 146 yards along with 11 receptions for 87 yards, as Pittsburgh will likely continue leaning on their duo of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren in his absence.