Lamar Jackson’s newest offensive weapon Diontae Johnson to stay at home as team travels to face Giants

Baltimore Ravens WR Diontae Johnson did not want to play against the Philadelphia Eagles, leaving Lamar Jackson high and dry in loss.

Lamar Jackson’s newest offensive weapon Diontae Johnson to stay at home as team travels to face Giants

Lamar Jackson did not have Diontae Johnson against the Philadelphia Eagles after he refused to play (Image via X)

The Baltimore Ravens have struggled offensively in their past five games where they lost two and won one. In their latest game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Lamar Jackson and his teammates could not get anything going against that stud defense.

Justin Tucker‘s continuous misses are still a problem. But the Baltimore Ravens could not blame him for the loss after their offense struggled to find their early season form. Derrick Henry did rack up some yards, but not to the standards he set early on. In fact, the Ravens are 1-5 in games ‘King Henry’ rushes less than 85 yards.

YouTube video

But it was not just the rushing attack that was the problem. Early in the season, Lamar Jackson was throwing at an unreal level, hitting efficiency numbers not often seen from the dual-threat QB. Against the Philadelphia Eagles it was going to diminish, but not to that extent with the weapons he has.

FS Video

Except, one recently acquired weapon decided not to be a part of the game. Diontae Johnson, who has been with the team for the past eight weeks did not want to enter the game after his frustrations with the offense.

The star WR was brought in to be another elite target for Jackson. But his quarterback has targeted him a total of five times over the past four games. That is just over one target per game since arriving from the Carolina Panthers.

He took a stand and stood by a heater all game. The situation became worse when starter Rashod Bateman could not play the second half and Johnson still did not want to go in. The Ravens did not appreciate this act from the former All-Pro.

RELATED
‘Emotional’ Christian McCaffrey’s latest social media post sparks retirement rumors
'Emotional' Christian McCaffrey's latest social media post sparked retirement rumors

Ravens suspend Diontae Johnson for game against Giants

The franchise saw this as a conduct that did not fit in with their collective goals. They sent a couple of late round picks so as to help themselves get another weapon. Since they couldn’t, GM Eric DeCosta released this statement through their official X account.

Diontae Johnson chances of a long term contract with the Baltimore Ravens is up in smoke after this suspension
Diontae Johnson chances of a long term contract with the Baltimore Ravens is up in smoke after this suspension (Image via x)

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. 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.

Eric DeCosta on X

This firm stand from the franchise indicates Diontae Johnson will now have almost two weeks of rest before returning to practice in Week 16. It might not be the optimal situation for the wideout as this was supposed to be his audition for a long-term contract.

RELATED
Trevor Lawrence to miss more games than Azeez Al-Shaair despite taking the brunt of controversial hit
Trevor Lawrence has been placed on IR by the Jacksonville Jaguars after being hit by Azeez Al-Shaair

The 28-year-old is a free agent after this season and is looking for possibly his last big payday. However, this conduct and suspension will probably shrink his potential suitors list come 2025. If anything, the wideout should look to perform at his best in the remaining games this season.