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Will the Pittsburgh Steelers be without one of their premier playmakers this weekend when they host their division archrival, the Baltimore Ravens? And no, I am not talking about top tailback Najee Harris.
Top target Diontae Johnson has struggled this season after a fantastic 2021 campaign where he caught 107 passes for 1,161 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Without Ben Roethlisberger slinging the passes, Johnson’s fantasy value has fallen off the face of the earth. Johnson only has 61 receptions for 565 yards after a dozen games, and he is the Cole Kmet of 2022 because he has yet to score a touchdown. Despite being targeted at least 10 times in half of his contests, Johnson has yet to have a 100-yard game and has had just one lone outing where he managed more than 65 yards.
Johnson does not need more going against him, but now he is dealing with his second hip injury of the season. He is listed as “questionable” for the Baltimore tilt. So will Pittsburgh’s No. 1 WR be able to suit up on Sunday? Here is the latest:
Is Diontae Johnson Healthy or Injured?
As of the writing of this article, Johnson is hurt, but he might not be too injured to play. He was limited in practice on Wednesday, then took a step back as he was a DNP on Thursday. Yet Friday he was able to get another limited practice session in, so Johnson still has a chance of being on the field this weekend.
Johnson will surely not be at 100 percent by the time the ball is kicked off on Sunday, and he has been below-average fantasy-wise throughout the season. If he was completely healthy and raring to go he would not be a good play unless you had a plethora of injuries at the WR position on your fantasy squad. Johnson has only caught 33 balls for 289 and two touchdowns in six career contests against the Ravens, so it is not like he has owned their secondary.
Johnson is a risky play this week whether he is healthy or injured, but right now he is trending towards being a game-time decision unless something drastically changes on Saturday. Keep monitoring his situation up until Sunday morning as we may not know if he is going to play until he is stretching his hip while warming up.
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