ExtremeRavens Posted December 9 Posted December 9 Diontae Johnson remains a Raven — for now. Whether the wide receiver’s one-game suspension for “conduct detrimental to the team” for refusing to enter Baltimore’s Dec. 1 game against the Philadelphia Eagles becomes a larger distraction, or if he’s even still with the team once it ends, remains to be seen. Either way, coach John Harbaugh had little to say about it Monday in Owings Mills after general manager Eric DeCosta’s statement last week during the bye announcing the suspension said there would be no further comment, even if there are still plenty of unanswered questions. “I think the statement said there would be no further comment on that so we’ll just kind of leave it at that and see where it goes,” Harbaugh said when asked if there was a path back to playing for Baltimore. In the short term, Johnson, whom the Ravens acquired from the Carolina Panthers in a swap of draft picks ahead of last month’s trade deadline, will not be available for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. But beyond that, would teammates even welcome back a player who refused to go into a game? Fellow wide receiver Zay Flowers said he would. “It ain’t a distraction,” he said. “That ain’t my decision to make. “Diontae still one of my guys. He one of our guys. I don’t really have much to say about it.” Receiver Rashod Bateman also said the situation wouldn’t become a distraction for Baltimore (8-5), which is currently the No. 5 seed in the AFC but still has a chance to win the AFC North with four games left. “Obviously we all know what happened,” said Bateman, who exited the Eagles game with a knee injury in the third quarter and did not return. “We all understand both sides. There’s consequences that come with this game. I know he’ll be back soon. It’s more so a situation for him to figure out more rather than me. He’ll figure it out and he’ll be back with us. “Everybody in here grown men. We all know we all got a task at hand individually and he knows that, too.” Johnson, however, has been seemingly unhappy with his role since joining the Ravens. After leading the Panthers in receiving with 30 catches for 357 yards and three touchdowns through the first seven weeks of the season, the 28-year-old one-time Pro Bowl selection has played sparingly for Baltimore. He has logged just 39 snaps on offense and has one catch for 6 yards across five games. Whether he adds to those numbers, becomes a lingering distraction or is released once the suspension is up isn’t clear, but players are trying to carry on as usual. “I been in this league long enough, man,” veteran wideout Nelson Agholor said when asked if the matter could derail the Ravens. “A lot of things has happened in my career. You still gotta do your job.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. Week 15 Ravens at Giants Sunday, 1 p.m. TV: CBS Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM Line: Ravens by 14 1/2 View the full article Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.