The Baltimore Ravens made somewhat of a surprising move this last Friday when they ultimately decided to waive disgruntled wide receiver Diontae Johnson.
Even though things seemed to have been heading that way over the last couple of weeks, as Johnson had been disciplined by the team multiple times for disagreements over his utilization, it's still interesting that the Ravens would opt to let what was supposed to be their big acquisition to bolster the receiving corps at the trade deadline potentially go to another team this late.
Nonetheless, we know that Johnson was a popular trade target theorized among Chiefs fans before the team brought in DeAndre Hopkins. Furthermore, there is predated interest between Johnson and the Chiefs as Kansas City reportedly tried to acquire the talented pass-catcher from the Pittsburgh Steelers last offseason. Pittsburgh did not want to help Kansas City, so they instead sent Johnson to Carolina
.With all of that being said, there's reason to believe that Kansas City could potentially be interested in adding Johnson once again. Adam Schefter of ESPN even went as far as to say that Kansas City is a team to watch when Johnson can be claimed off of waivers on Monday, if he even makes it that far down the waiver order.
Former Ravens WR Diontae Johnson is likely to be claimed on waivers Monday, per sources. Potential landing spots include but are not limited to the Chargers and Chiefs - if Johnson even makes it that far on waivers. pic.twitter.com/gdXfUHODBT
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 21, 2024
Of course, the idea of adding Johnson at this point will be met with skepticism from Chiefs Kingdom given that wherever he lands, he will be on his 4th team in less than a year, which isn't always a great sign for a player.
There are certainly questions about whether Johnson's personality would mesh well in the Chiefs locker room and if bringing in a player with a certain attitude would be a great idea for Kansas City. Those questions are fair, but, if you think the Kansas City Chiefs wouldn't add Johnson because of questions about his character, you simply haven't been here for very long.
The Chiefs have always taken chances on players who have question marks about their character, and Head Coach Andy Reid has always been a man of multiple chances. Hell, they even brought Kareem Hunt this season after injuries to the running back room, a move most of us never thought they'd make.
Kansas City is constantly praised for its winning culture and healthy locker room, and they've shown to be capable of absorbing personalities like Johnson rather easily without it causing much trouble.
The term "locker room cancer" gets thrown around a lot with certain players, but that doesn't always seem fair. Sure, it didn't work out in Baltimore for Johnson and sometimes that happens, but Johnson wasn't viewed as that in Carolina, they just decided to get an asset back for a player on a losing team that was about to be a free agent. Rarely do you hear of anyone being a locker room cancer for the Kansas City Chiefs either.
The fear that Johnson would walk into Kansas City and rip apart the team chemistry or become a locker room problem seems unfounded and a little ridiculous. If Kansas City claims Johnson off waivers and he becomes a problem, just cut him? There's almost nothing to lose by bringing a guy in off waivers at this point in the year. Rarely do you get an opportunity to add a player of this magnitude this late in the season for almost no cost?
Johnson is just 28 years old still with over 4,700 career receiving yards and 28 touchdowns. The Chiefs have added Hollywood Brown back from injury, and DeAndre Hopkins has been good for them so far, but there's no replacing Rashee Rice with either of those two. We know the offense hasn't looked the same since he went down.
Johnson wouldn't replace Rice either, but he certainly would add yet another talented pass catcher to the offense that still struggles at times to beat man coverage and could use as much talent as possible. When you're going for a three-peat and have suffered as many injuries as Kansas City has, it's always smart to exhaust all avenues to make the team better. Johnson could be injury insurance at the absolute least and be a productive wide receiver to take some of the load off of DeAndre Hopkins, Travis Kelce, and rookie Xavier Worthy.
And while it's not offensive line help as many Chiefs fans would rather see, Johnson can still be beneficial to the offense as someone who can get open quickly so that Patrick Mahomes can get rid of the ball and not take so many hits.
Bottom line, adding Johnson still makes a ton of sense for Kansas City as they prepare for the stretch run and if you still believe in the talent, then it's a smart bet that Kansas City could get the most out of him by introducing him to this locker room and getting him acclimated in the winning culture.