Houston is adding to its wide receiver room following the loss of Tank Dell.
The Texans are claiming former Ravens WR Diontae Johnson off waivers, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday, per a source. The move has since been made official on the league's transaction wire.
Johnson was waived by the Ravens less than two months after being acquired via midseason trade with the Panthers. His stay in Baltimore was ultimately a disappointment, as he produced just one catch in four games and disrupted the tenor of his arrival after refusing to enter the Ravens' Week 13 loss to the Eagles.
The Ravens suspended Johnson for one game as a result of his sideline antics, and the following week the two sides "mutually agreed" to excuse the WR from team activities ahead of Week 16's game. He was eventually released later that week.
He coincidentally joins the Texans two days before they square off against those Ravens on Christmas Day, although he almost certainly won't be caught up enough to take the field himself.
Whenever he is, perhaps a change of scenery is what is needed for Johnson, who produced 30 receptions for 357 yards and three touchdowns in seven games for Carolina this season.
Just hours after Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans announced the extent of Dell's recent knee injury -- a torn ACL and dislocated kneecap, which will require season-ending surgery -- Houston went ahead and got a veteran as it prepares for the playoffs.
Injuries at wide receiver have been a theme for the Texans in 2024. Nico Collins' hot start was disrupted with a hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve, and Stefon Diggs' first season with the club was cut short after the veteran suffered a torn ACL in Week 8. Dell's gruesome injury during Saturday's loss to the Chiefs was the latest of a crushing storyline.
C.J. Stroud's second season has seen a drop in numbers as a result, but the Texans still managed to clinch a consecutive AFC South title despite it all.
We'll see if Johnson can return to form in Houston and turn around what has so far been a head-scratching season. The 28-year-old has two weeks to get acclimated before the Texans enter the postseason.
