Diontae Johnson agrees to 1-year deal with Cleveland Browns, AP source says

By Canadian Press on April 28, 2025.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Wide receiver Diontae Johnson agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Cleveland Browns on Monday, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced. The move was first reported by NFL Network.

Cleveland will be the fourth team that Johnson has been on in a year. He began last season with Carolina before being traded to Baltimore in late October. Johnson — who led the Panthers with 30 receptions and 357 receiving yards at the time of the trade — had only one catch in four games for the Ravens when he refused to enter a Dec. 1 contest against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Johnson was suspended one game and then waived by the Ravens on Dec. 21. He was claimed by Houston and had three receptions, including one for 12 yards in the Texans’ wild-card playoff win over the Chargers.

Johnson though was waived shortly after that game as Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said it didn’t work out. Johnson was then claimed by Baltimore, but the Ravens did that in order to possibly get a compensatory pick in the 2026 draft.

The 28-year old Johnson has plenty of experience playing in the AFC North. He was drafted in the third round by Pittsburgh in 2019 and spent five seasons with the Steelers. His best year was in 2021 when he had 107 receptions for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns.

Johnson joins a Browns receiving room that doesn’t have many viable options other than Jerry Jeudy.

Who Johnson will be catching passes from during offseason workouts and training camp will be of more interest. Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett are expected to battle for Cleveland’s starting quarterback job, but the Browns made things interesting during the draft with the selections of Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Joe Reedy, The Associated Press

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