Ravens trade for Panthers WR Diontae Johnson, bolstering top offense

BALTIMORE — The Ravens already have the NFL’s top offense, but that didn’t stop them from adding to it Tuesday.

In a mildly surprising move, Baltimore traded for Panthers wide receiver Diontae Johnson, a source with direct knowledge of the deal confirmed to The Baltimore Sun. In exchange, Carolina gets a fifth-round draft pick in 2025 while sending its sixth-round pick to the Ravens in the pick swap.

The Panthers are also paying down some of Johnson’s remaining $3.88 million salary, with Baltimore, which currently has just over $4.5 million of salary cap space, on the hook for only about $625,000 before he becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

The move marks a return to the AFC North for the 2021 Pro Bowl selection. Johnson, 28, spent the first five years of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers before being traded in the offseason.

Perhaps just as important, the acquisition of Johnson, who has 30 catches for 357 yards and three touchdowns this year, keeps him away from rivals who were in more need of his services ahead of next Tuesday’s trade deadline.

In adding Johnson, however, the Ravens get one of the league’s top players in separation rate, according to Pro Football Focus. He also bolsters a receiving group that was thin beyond its top three of Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor.

Flowers leads the Ravens with 41 catches for 627 yards with a touchdown, while Bateman has 22 catches for 422 yards and three scores. Agholor has just 11 catches for 170 yards and one touchdown.

In 84 career games, Johnson has 421 receptions for 4,720 yards with 28 touchdowns, and he has some punt and kick return experience, which included an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 14 of his rookie year.

Johnson’s best game this season came in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders, when he had eight catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. With the Panthers (1-7) floundering, the 2019 third-round draft pick out of Toledo had garnered attention from around the league.

And while the Ravens’ biggest concerns are on defense this season, their offense has not been a particular problem.

Despite a stunning 29-24 loss to the Browns in Cleveland on Sunday, Baltimore ranks first in the league in total yards and passing efficiency, second in points scored and fifth in passing yards. Through eight games, quarterback Lamar Jackson has completed 66.9% of his passes for 2,099 yards and 17 touchdowns with just two interceptions.

But adding Johnson could also mean more potent three-receiver sets for Baltimore, thus leading to fewer defenders in the box against its league-leading rushing attack that’s led by running back Derrick Henry and Jackson, the betting favorite to win a third NFL Most Valuable Player Award.

Johnson’s best season came in 2021 with the Steelers, when he had 107 catches for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns. And though his numbers have steadily declined since, he was an inexpensive addition with little to no downside.