Former Steeler Diontae Johnson is coming back to Pittsburgh this Sunday with the Baltimore Ravens.

And the veteran wide receiver knows it is going to be a little bit awkward getting around Acrisure Stadium.

“Just being back in that stadium where it all started, it’s going to be different,” Johnson said via an interview posted on the Ravens’ YouTube channel. “I actually (have) never been in the away locker room. That’s going to be different for me.”

Johnson was originally dealt from Pittsburgh to Carolina after five years in Black and Gold for cornerback Donte Jackson in March. The Panthers then flipped him to Baltimore two weeks ago in advance of the trade deadline.

Even though many assumed that Johnson was traded from the Steelers because of some undercurrent of discord, Johnson insists he is still maintaining communication with many of the team’s current players.

“I talk to T.J. Watt a little bit,” Johnson said. “Cam Heyward. George Pickens. Calvin Austin. Najee, a little bit. Cam Sutton. Pretty much the guys I was there with. We’ve kinda got a good relationship, so we keep in touch.”

In two games so far with Baltimore, Johnson has played only 22 snaps. He caught just one ball for 6 yards on two targets. That said, Johnson is being patient about his role.

“They’re working me in there slowly,” Johnson said. “Whenever they call my number, go in there and do my thing. I can’t go in there expecting a lot, putting a lot of pressure on myself. However the game goes, I’m all for it.”

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It certainly doesn’t sound like Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has been too occupied with concern about how Johnson could become a bigger part of the Ravens’ offensive mix this week.

“To be honest with you, I hadn’t thought a lot about it,” Tomlin said of Johnson being added to the Ravens’ depth chart. “He’s not on a lot of their video. So, at this stage of the week, I don’t know that I’ve weighed what he might mean to the matchup. They’ve got more significant pieces with larger roles that are occupying my attention at this part of the week.”

Johnson had 30 catches for 357 yards and three touchdowns with the Panthers over the first seven weeks of the season before the trade took place.

“It’s just really the terminology,” Johnson said of changing teams. “You’ve just got to really pay attention to know what you’re doing when you get in there. Just to show (the coaches) that you are retaining everything — putting the right stuff on film, taking it one day at a time. It’s really just learning the formations and stuff like that.”

Johnson pointed to the home game at Acrisure Stadium on Dec. 5, 2021, as his favorite game from this rivalry during his days as a Steeler. Johnson caught two touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger that day and went for 105 yards on eight receptions.

The Steelers won 20-19 to improve to 6-5-1. They’d eventually make the playoffs as a wild card. Baltimore would lose the home game of that series as well in Week 18, falling to 8-9 and missing the playoffs.

That was Roethlisberger’s last regular season game before he retired.

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