The Ravens are playing mind games. WR Diontae Johnson refused to play against the Eagles in the week 13 matchup, so the NFL suspended him for one game. Before that, he arrived at the Ravens after playing 7 games for the Panthers. But the Ravens lost against the Eagles and waived him. Then, he arrived at the Texans. And played 1 regular season game and 1 playoff game. But they shocked everyone by waiving him. Wait, brace yourselves for the big one!

The Ravens made a stunning move by claiming him from the waivers! What’s happening? Texans HC DeMeco Ryans cleared the air and said, “Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. We are onto the Chiefs.” According to the NFL insider Adam Schefter, the receiver wouldn’t be an official member of the Ravens until after the Super Bowl. But he is an undrafted free agent, and if he signs with another team, the Ravens will get a compensatory draft pick in 2026. That’s crazy! The management is planning some amazing moves. This is one of them.

With this, the Ravens have given rise to some serious doubts that the compensatory draft formula has been revised. When the news broke out about Daniel Jones, signed by the Vikings for the same reason, the theory floated that the QB needs to be on the 48-man active roster if they want a draft pick in 2026. But with Diontae Johnson, there is no chance to comply with that rule as he is ineligible to play for the Ravens.

The receiver is having a wild ride this year. In 2022, he signed a 2-year, $36.71 contract extension, till 2024, with the Steelers. But in the 2024 offseason, they traded him to the Panthers. In 7 games for Panthers this year, he had 30 receptions for 357 receiving yards with 3 TDs. With the Ravens, he started only 1 game and had only 1 reception for 6 yards.

However, everything was going well at the Texans. They are up against the Chiefs in the divisional round. But they didn’t like the receiver’s antics and ended his postseason hopes.

The real reason the Texans waived Diontae Johnson

For the Texans, the receiver recorded 2 receptions for 12 yards. And after the  32-12 wildcard win against the Chargers, he wasn’t happy. As the players came back to the locker room, he was frustrated at not getting enough playing time. According to ESPN, RB Joe Mixon and LB Azeez Al-Shaair had a word with Diontae Johnson, but his emotions were high.

The franchise didn’t like it, and wouldn’t want such things disturbing their players at such a crucial time of the season. Hence, they made the tough decision that put his future in jeopardy. It earlier happened with the Ravens who claimed they were let down by the receiver in the week 13 game.

However, the Ravens Flock is happy. Their front office is trying to execute trick plays just as well as their squad does. Will they end up prompting a change in rules? Exciting times.