Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday that he’s not spending much time thinking about wide receiver Diontae Johnson returning to Pittsburgh as a member of the Ravens for this Sunday’s game between the AFC North teams.
The reunion is a bigger point of interest for Johnson, though. Johnson spent five seasons with the Steelers before being traded to the Panthers during the offseason and moving on to the Ravens a couple of weeks ago set him up for a reunion with a lot of familiar faces this week.
“Man, I had a great career there. I loved it,” Johnson said, via the team’s website. “Great city, people great there. I know what they’re about. I can’t wait to get to Sunday to just be back in that stadium. . . . I’m ready to get back there just to see the good people that I made relationships with and stuff like that. But other than that, it’s a big moment for me.”
Tomlin said he’s not sweating Johnson’s return because the Ravens have “more significant pieces with larger roles” in the offense and that view is supported by Johnson’s one catch in two games with Baltimore. He’s got more time in the system under his belt now, though, and will likely be looking to make a splash in his return to his old stomping grounds, so a bigger role could be in store this weekend.