Diontae Johnson

Speaking on The Pat McAfee show, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said he thinks Diontae Johnson will be traded before the deadline.

The exact quote from Schefter was, “In my mind, Diontae Johnson and [Browns LB] Za’Darius Smith are gonna be traded before the deadline.” The NFL trade deadline has been pushed back to November 5th, giving teams an extra week to decide the directions they want to go in, but Johnson (ribs) did not play in the Panthers’ Week 8 loss and could be held out again in Week 9, even if he is healthy enough to play. There are several teams who could benefit from acquiring Johnson, who has caught 30 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns this season in seven games. Is ability to command targets was on full display once Andy Dalton took over under center for the Panthers, and with Johnson unlikely to re-up with the team this offseason, a trade would make the most sense for both sides.