New Cleveland Browns wide receiver Diontae Johnson might want to pack an extra layer after deciding it was too cold to play last season in Baltimore. Johnson, who bounced between three teams during a chaotic 2024, signed a one-year deal with the Browns in April. But during a recent appearance on the “Sports and Suits” podcast, he admitted he refused to enter a Week 13 game while with the Ravens — not because of injury, but because the weather didn’t cooperate.
“I wasn’t getting into no run plays, no pass plays or nothing. It was cold,” Johnson said. “So, I’m on the sidelines just standing there, going to the heater, back and forth just waiting to hear my name called. End of the third (quarter) going into the fourth, they were like, ‘Tae, we need you.’ To me, I’m thinking, ‘Nah, I don’t think it’s a good idea for me.’ Like, my legs are already [cold]. I didn’t wanna go out there and put bad stuff on film.”
According to the National Weather Service, the high temperature in the Baltimore area reached 44 degrees on Dec. 1 with a low of 21.
After opening the year with the Carolina Panthers, they traded him to the Ravens Oct. 29. He managed just one catch on five targets over four games. When coaches called on him during a close Dec. 1 game against the Eagles, Johnson said he declined — a decision he later explained on the podcast.
“It’s not like I didn’t wanna go in the game, but leading up to this point, I had been through so much,” Johnson said. “… I told them I wasn’t going in. I was like, ‘I understand what you’re saying, but I’m not going in.’ So I just sat on the bench and that’s when they suspended me.”
Baltimore waived Johnson Dec. 20. The Houston Texans claimed him. He made just one appearance in the regular season finale, catching two passes for 12 yards. Houston then waived Johnson on Jan. 14 and was picked up again by Baltimore, but was not eligible to play in the postseason.
“After the suspension [the Ravens] excused me from team activities,” Johnson said. “I already knew if I went back I was going to be in the dog house even more.”
If cold weather was a dealbreaker in Baltimore, Johnson might be in for a brisk surprise in Cleveland — where average temperatures dip into the 30s by December, according to the National Weather Service.
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Author: Cody Nagel
June 25, 2025 | 12:10 pm
