The Week 11 showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens will center around these AFC North rivals jockeying for position atop the division standings. That said, Diontae Johnson squaring off against his former team is one of the more intriguing side-stories of this head-to-head bout.
The wideout, who spent the first five years of his NFL career with the Steelers, was traded by the franchise this offseason to the Carolina Panthers. Since then, Johnson was dealt to the Ravens leading up to the deadline, setting the stage for him to strike a bit of revenge against his old club. And now he may have some bulletin board material to fuel him even more for this matchup.
On Tuesday, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked about facing his ex-player and pretty much dismissed the significance. He even added that other players within Baltimore's offense are taking up more of his time preparing for them.
"To be honest with you, I hadn't thought a lot about it," Tomlin said of Johnson, via ESPN. "He's not on a lot of their video, and so at this stage of the week, I don't know that I've weighed what he might mean to the matchup. They got more significant pieces with larger roles that are occupying my attention at this part of the week."
Tomlin is correct that Johnson hasn't been a main fixture within the Ravens offense thus far. The 28-year-old played 17 snaps in his debut against the Denver Broncos in Week 9 and did not record a catch. Then, he played just five snaps and caught one pass for 6 yards against Cincinnati last week.
However, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh did say Monday that Johnson will likely get an increased workload going forward now that he's getting up to speed with their offense. And while Tomlin's comments were factual, they can -- and likely will -- be used by Johnson to juice him up even more for this contest. Here's what Johnson had to say about his return to Pittsburgh.
"Man, I had a great career there. I loved it," Johnson said, via the team's website. "Great city, people great there. I know what they're about. I can't wait to get to Sunday to just be back in that stadium. ... I'm ready to get back there just to see the good people that I made relationships with and stuff like that. But other than that, it's a big moment for me."
Johnson said he still keeps in touch with George Pickens, Calvin Austin III, Najee Harris, T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward, to name a few. He'll be facing off against them in a massive AFC North showdown on Sunday.
Want to bet Diontae Johnson props when he faces off against his former team? Head on over to DraftKings to see all of the latest sports betting odds for his receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns -- just to name a few.