The Cleveland Browns rolled the dice when they signed veteran WR Diontae Johnson.
He used to be a mid-tier WR1 with the Steelers, and he could be just what this team needs next to Jerry Jeudy.
However, he also comes with some baggage.
He played for three different teams last season, and he infamously opted not to enter a game with the Baltimore Ravens.
That ultimately led to his suspension and eventual release.
Now, months later, Johnson has opened up about that incident, and Browns fans will not like his reasoning one bit.
As reported by Warren Sharp on X, Johnson claimed that he didn’t want to enter the game because it was ‘too cold.’
“I was just rolling with the punches at that time. So, I told them I wasn’t going in. I was like, ‘I understand what you’re saying, but I’m not going to go in.’ So, I just sat on the bench, and that’s when they suspended me,” Johnson said.
WR Diontae Johnson just admitted he refused to enter a game in 41° weather last year in Baltimore because he felt “ice cold” 🥶
its a good thing he’s playing this year in…
<checks notes>
CLEVELAND 😭 pic.twitter.com/sE11z4yYTh
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) June 24, 2025
Johnson argued that since he hadn’t been featured earlier in the offense, he didn’t think it was a good idea for him to enter the game under those cold conditions.
Instead, he opted to let them know that he wasn’t going to play.
That’s the last thing you want to hear when your team happens to play in one of the coldest cities in the NFL.
Things can get quite rough in Cleveland in the winter, and that’s not an encouraging sign.
Even if his explanation made sense, we’re still talking about a pro football player.
Hopefully, that won’t be the case with Johnson in his first season in Northeast Ohio.
He’s been on five teams in the past three years, and this might be his final chance in the league.
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