The Baltimore Ravens have suspended wide receiver Diontae Johnson for one game due to “conduct detrimental to the team,” the team announced on Wednesday afternoon.
Johnson will serve the suspension during their game against the New York Giants on Dec. 15, which comes after their bye week this week. He’ll be eligible to return for their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 21.
The issue, the team said in a statement, came after Johnson refused to enter their game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
“We have made the difficult decision to suspend Diontae Johnson for our upcoming game against the New York Giants for conduct detrimental to the team,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement. “Diontae’s suspension stems from refusing to enter our game against the Philadelphia Eagles. We will have no further comments on this matter going forward.”
It’s unclear why Johnson didn’t play in the 24-19 loss, though he didn’t take a single snap. Johnson, who started the season out with the Carolina Panthers, has just one catch for six yards in his four games with the team.
The Ravens landed Johnson and a future sixth-round draft pick in a deal with the Panthers ahead of the deadline last month. The 28-year-old — who got his start with the Pittsburgh Steelers after they selected him in the third round of the 2019 draft — led the Panthers in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches before he was traded.
“At this time, I’m going to have to wait just to clarify it,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday about Johnson, via ESPN. “There’s some moving parts there that we’re going to have to figure out and explore and just see where we’re at. I know that’s not the answer you want, but that’s the best I can do in fairness to everybody right now.”
Johnson is in the final year of a contract extension he signed with the Steelers. The Ravens are set to pay Johnson about $625,000, and he’ll hit free agency this upcoming offseason.
The Ravens sit at 8-5 on the season after Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia, which marked their second loss in their last three games. They enter the bye week sitting in second in the AFC North standings, and they are currently projected to secure one of the final wild card spots in the AFC.