For the first time since each was acquired, new Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett on Tuesday had a chance to formally work with their No. 1 receiver.
Diontae Johnson took part in the fourth day of organized team activities at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side, Pickett and rookie receiver Calvin Austin Jr. confirmed. Johnson declined to talk to reporters about why he missed last week’s OTAs or about why he elected to participate this week.
Sunday, in a possible reference to responding to speculation about Johnson skipping the first week of OTAs being related to his status as entering the final year of his contract, a message posted to Johnson’s verified Twitter account read: “Don’t judge my choices without understanding my reasons..”
The team told reporters Johnson would speak publicly next week after a practice for mandatory minicamp. OTAs are voluntary, but Johnson and defensive end Stephon Tuitt are the only starters on offense or defense who did not attend last week.
“My first chance to throw to him,” rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett said Tuesday of Johnson. “Obviously, you can see how talented he is. Really excited to play with him as the weeks go here.”
Johnson finished last season tied for fifth in the NFL with 107 receptions. He had Steelers highs in receiving yards (1,162) and touchdowns (eight).
“You can see how special of a player he is,” Pickett said, “so I am really excited to get more time to work with him to see what I can do to help his game out.”
Entering the final season of the rookie contract he signed after being a third-round pick in 2019, Johnson is scheduled to earn $2.79 million in 2022. The market for wide receivers has exploded this offseason, meaning Johnson reasonably could be asking for a deal that includes an average annual salary of around $20 million. The Steelers typically extend the contracts of veterans during the preseason of the final season of their current deals.
Three of the Steelers’ top five receivers from last season (JuJu Smith-Schuster, Ray-Ray McCloud and James Washington) left via free agency, so Johnson and Chase Claypool are the lone proven veteran holdovers.
“You can tell that he’s a vet, a guy that has obviously did it before,” Austin said Tuesday. “Just seeing the way he works and how he came in and gets prepared and everything like that, it’s something I can definitely look up to.”
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