The Houston Texans on Tuesday waived wide receiver Diontae Johnson as they prepare for their divisional-round playoff game on Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Unfortunately, with Diontae it didn’t work out,” coach DeMeco Ryans said Tuesday. “We’re on to the Chiefs.”
Following the Texans’ wild-card playoff victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday, Johnson was visibly upset in the locker room. He was fully dressed sitting at his locker staring in frustration because of a lack of playing time and targets. Running back Joe Mixon and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair tried to comfort and encourage him.
Johnson played only 15 out of the Texans’ 70 offensive snaps and received only one target. He finished the game with one catch for 12 yards.
Johnson had three catches for 24 yards in two games with Houston after the Texans claimed Johnson off waivers from the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 23. Baltimore had moved on from the receiver after he refused to enter a game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 1.
Before the Ravens waived Johnson, they suspended him one game for his refusal to play against the Eagles. Baltimore had acquired him in a trade with the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 29, but he played only 39 snaps for the team, catching one pass for 6 yards.
The Panthers acquired Johnson from the Pittsburgh Steelers before the season. He had 30 catches for 257 yards and three touchdowns for Carolina when he was dealt to the Ravens.
The Steelers drafted Johnson in the third round of the 2019 draft and he had 391 catches for 4,363 yards and 25 touchdowns in Pittsburgh. He earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2021 with his lone 1,000-yard season and a career-high eight touchdown receptions in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s final year.
ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime contributed to this report.
