The Houston Texans made the decision to release wide receiver Diontae Johnson on Tuesday. With a matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs coming up on Saturday in the divisional round of the playoffs, the news caught most fans completely by surprise.
Unfortunately, it has come out since that Johnson was released due to being a problem in the locker room following the team’s huge Wild Card victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Johnson has completely derailed his own career. He ended up being released by the Baltimore Ravens earlier this season due to very similar things.
There is no question that with Johnson entering NFL free agency this offseason, teams around the league will view him as a potential locker room cancer.
Following Johnson’s release, head coach DeMeco Ryans had a very blunt and honest response when asked about it.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t work out,” Ryans said.
Ryans then allowed in his inner Bill Belichick to come out by saying that “we’re on to the Chiefs.”
‘Unfortunately it didn’t work out’ #Texans coach DeMeco Ryans on cutting Diontae Johnson @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/fiSi5uQ2sc
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 14, 2025
It’s hard to believe that a player would have such a problem after a huge playoff win. Being frustrated with a role is one thing, but openly causing issues for the team is another.
In his short time with the Texans, Johnson ended up catching three passes for 24 yards in just two games. That includes the one regular season game he played and the Wild Card win.
Obviously, this was disappointing for Houston as well. They brought Johnson in to help replace the loss of Tank Dell. There was real hope that he could end up having a major impact within the offense.
Now, the Texans will be down a wide receiver, but it could be addition by subtraction. There is absolutely zero room for a bad attitude in the playoffs.
Hopefully, Johnson can figure out whatever is going on with him and bounce back to being a productive football player. He was expected to be a very sought after free agent in the offseason.
That could still end up being the case, but he certainly hasn’t done himself any favors by being quickly released by each of his last two teams for being an issue in the locker room.
