The Diontae Johnson experiment is over in Houston. The Texans announced Tuesday they had waived the former Pro Bowl wideout ahead of their divisional-round matchup vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.
Johnson played in two total games for the Texans, catching two passes for 12 yards in the regular-season finale against the Tennessee Titans, and one catch for 12 yards in the wild-card win over the Los Angeles Chargers. The 28-year-old was claimed by the Texans on Dec. 23 after being waived by the Baltimore Ravens.
"With Diontae, unfortunately it didn't work out and we're on to the Chiefs," Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said Tuesday after the news was announced.
Johnson, according to KPRC2 Houston, was visibly frustrated after the Texans' playoff win over the Chargers, as teammates tried to calm the veteran down. He caught his only target thrown his way, and played just 16 snaps on offense, good for 22 percent of the playing time, per Aaron Wilson.
Baltimore sent the Carolina Panthers a fifth-round pick in exchange for Johnson and a sixth-rounder in October, but Johnson was unhappy with his role in the offense. The wideout was even suspended for the Week 15 matchup against the New York Giants for conduct detrimental to the team before being cut. In the last calendar year, Johnson has suited up for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Panthers, Ravens and Texans. He's been traded twice and waived twice.
Johnson now again hits the waiver wire, but it remains to be seen if there will be interest in him from one of the other five teams. He was viewed by some as a potential "X-factor" for a Texans playoff run since Houston found itself without Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell at wide receiver, but the team quickly came to the conclusion he was expendable. Houston will rely on John Metchie III, Robert Woods and Xavier Hutchinson behind Nico Collins at receiver.
Johnson has caught 391 passes for 4,363 yards and 25 touchdowns in 77 career games played. He made the Pro Bowl with Pittsburgh in 2021 after catching 107 passes for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns.
