Diontae Johnson Snaps Revealed for Ravens Debut; Panthers Trade Floored NFL Insiders

Wide receiver Diontae Johnson will make his debut for the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday against the Denver Broncos following his trade from the Carolina Panthers earlier this week. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh revealed how many snaps Johnson is expected to play in his first game with the team:

NFL sources were reportedly "floored" by the Panthers' minimal return after the team traded Johnson to the Ravens, per CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones.

"Sources across the NFL were floored by the lack of compensation Carolina received for wide receiver Diontae Johnson," Jones wrote. "To recap: The Panthers sent Johnson, their leading receiver at 28 years old, to the Ravens for a fifth- and sixth-round pick swap while absorbing all but the prorated league minimum of his salary."

Johnson caught 30 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns in seven starts. He now projects as one of the Ravens' top three wideouts for a 5-3 Baltimore team in playoff contention.

The bottom line is this: It's abundantly clear that the Panthers wanted to part with Johnson. That seems to have taken precedence over actually getting a good return on a talented player.

Joseph Person of The Athletic noted the following:

"When the Panthers traded for Johnson during the offseason, they knew full well about his reputation for being a locker-room diva who wasn't afraid to throw his quarterbacks under the bus. But they hoped he'd be on his best behavior while playing for a new contract.

"And while some in the organization didn't have an issue with Johnson, he didn't hide his displeasure during Bryce Young's slow start and had stopped practicing the past couple of weeks due to various injuries. When Johnson ran a bad route at Washington in Week 7 that resulted in an Andy Dalton interception, Dalton slammed his helmet and yelled when he got to the sideline.

"It feels now like that was the beginning of the end for Johnson in Carolina, which agreed to pay down Johnson's salary down to the minimum and tossed a Baltimore a pick in order to be done with Johnson."

That's not ideal for the Panthers, a one-win team that's lightyears away from competing for the playoffs. They need as many talents and assets as possible, and it's very possible the answer for its franchise quarterback isn't on the roster given that the team benched second-year signal-caller Bryce Young two weeks into the season.

But it's also clear that the Panthers may have made a bad move, especially when the team had time to be more patient before Tuesday's deadline, as Jones noted:

"Multiple sources questioned why the Panthers did not hold on to Johnson for another week. Even if he were inactive for Sunday's game against the Saints, perhaps a better market could emerge for Carolina to deal him. At worst -- and if the relationship had deteriorated beyond repair -- the Panthers could have cut Johnson after the trade deadline to subject him to waivers. Then any team -- and maybe not the Super Bowl-contending Ravens -- could have scooped him up while paying out the remainder of his salary. Carolina could have kept its money, stayed near the top of the sixth round and made a statement to the present and future locker room about how business will be conducted."

The Panthers can't take back that move now, though, and the 1-7 team now resides at the bottom of the NFL standings, hoping for brighter days in the future. In the meantime, Carolina looks to stop the losing streak Sunday when it hosts the 2-6 New Orleans Saints.