Focus shifts to signing Diontae Johnson after Steelers ink Chris Boswell to 5-year deal

After signing kicker Chris Boswell to a four-year contract extension Tuesday, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan can focus on his last important piece of financial business before the start of the season.

Khan said he has “been in conversations” with the representatives for wide receiver Diontae Johnson about a new contract. Johnson is entering the final year of his rookie deal and is earning $3.073 million after his first 100-catch and 1,000-yard season.

“We want Diontae,” Khan said. “We’re excited to have Diontae as part of this team, and we hope he is part of this team for a long time.”

Johnson’s salary cap hit is 16th-highest on the Steelers roster and is lower than, among others, backup offensive lineman Joe Haeg and fullback Derek Watt.

Johnson is trying to join other receivers from the 2019 draft class who have cashed in with lucrative extensions. Last week, the Seattle Seahawks gave D.K. Metcalf a three-year deal worth $72 million that included a $30 million signing bonus and $58.2 million in guarantees. Then, Deebo Samuel and the San Francisco 49ers agreed on a three-year, $73.5 million deal that included $58.1 million guaranteed.

Those contracts could move the proverbial goal posts in terms of Johnson’s asking price.

“When things happen,” Khan said, “it adds to the conversation.”

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Johnson continued his “hold-in” approach to training camp participation Monday, the first day Steelers players were permitted to wear pads. Johnson’s hasn’t taken part in any 11-on-11 periods, and he has gotten limited individual work with quarterbacks. Much of the time, Johnson has worked on the side with a member of the coaching staff.

“You want everyone out practicing, but we’ve taken the approach that we’re using it as an opportunity to look at other guys that are practicing, particularly the young guys,” Khan said.

By not partaking in team portions of practice, Johnson is missing a chance to build chemistry with new quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who has taken all of the first-team reps, as well as first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett.

“You wish you had everybody out there practicing,” Khan said. “Sometimes it’s for different reasons. Our focus is on guys practicing.”

Khan would not discuss whether the Steelers have considered fining Johnson for his lack of practice participation – or whether it is permissible.

“There are options out there,” he said, “but we want Diontae here. We’ll keep those discussions internal.”

Johnson is the third Steelers player in the past two seasons to purposely limit his practice participation, be it in training camp or offseason workouts. Outside linebacker T.J. Watt didn’t take part in team activities last year until he secured a record contract in September. Free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick took the same approach this summer in minicamp before he signed a new contract later in June.

Khan was asked whether he is concerned the “hold-in” might become more of a trend.

“Every one of those situations is different,” he said. “It’s something that has happened leaguewide. It’s happening more this year than last year. Realistically, it’s probably going to continue to happen leaguewide.”

The way to combat such a stance is for teams to negotiate deals earlier in camp, like the Steelers did with Boswell on Monday by signing him to a $20 million extension. Factoring in his 2022 salary, Boswell’s deal is worth $23.26 million over five seasons.

“I’m glad we got it done early in camp,” Boswell said. “It gives us plenty of time to get back to work. We’ve got a lot more work to do.’

Boswell’s contract matches the deal the Baltimore Ravens gave five-time All-Pro kicker Justin Tucker in April 2019. It includes $12.5 million in guarantees. A nice reward for a kicker whose 88.3 field-goal percentage since his 2015 debut ranks second in the NFL.

“It’s a contract earned in the past, and now I’ve got to earn the next one,” Boswell said.

It was three years ago that Boswell reported to training camp at Saint Vincent College having to kick for his contract. He was coming off his worst NFL season — he converted just 65% of his kicks — causing the Steelers to push back his $2 million roster bonus from the offseason until after the final preseason game.

Boswell said he hasn’t taken time to reflect on how far he has come since the last time the Steelers trained at Saint Vincent.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “I just got signed, but I still have to perform. Every day I come out here and kick. Every game I’m competing for my job. If I’m not getting the job done, they’ll find someone to do it. This contract means a lot to me, but it doesn’t have anything to do for my future. I earn that.”