It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for the Carolina Panthers who on Monday agreed in principle to trade receiver Diontae Johnson to the Baltimore Ravens. In addition to Johnson, the Ravens will receive the Panthers’ 2025 sixth-round pick while the Panthers will receive the Ravens’ fifth-round pick. Additionally, Carolina will pay the bulk of Johnson’s remaining salary to the tune of more than $3 million while Baltimore is only on the hook for about $625,000.
It’s a bargain for Baltimore and a valuable addition to their receiver room as Johnson brings speed and crisp route running to a core that already includes Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman. Johnson was acquired in March, along with a seventh-round pick, in a trade that sent cornerback Donte Jackson and a sixth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 2021 Pro Bowler was brought to Carolina as a veteran weapon for second-year quarterback Bryce Young who was benched 2 weeks into the season. The 28-year-old Johnson led the Panthers in receiving through seven games, with 30 catches for 357 yards and three touchdowns. He did not play in the Week 8 loss to the Denver Broncos as he nursed an oblique injury.
Veteran Adam Thielen is in the midst of returning from a hamstring injury incurred in the Week 3 win over the Las Vegas Raiders and will lead a receiving room made up on first-round draft pick Xavier Legette, undrafted rookie Jalen Coker, Jonathan Mingo, and David Moore. The trade gives Carolina seven picks in the first five rounds of next year’s draft. They have a pick in the first four rounds, three in the fifth, and two in the seventh.
