Return for Diontae Johnson on ‘hot seat’ with training camp underway

Cornerback became a positional need for the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason, as both Levi Wallace and Patrick Peterson left in free agency. Unfortunately, it came at the expense of Pittsburgh’s most productive offensive player, wide receiver Diontae Johnson .

The Steelers sent Johnson and their No. 240 pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for cornerback Donte Jackson and No. 178 pick (defensive lineman Logan Lee).

TribLive’s Joe Rutter believes that Jackson is at risk of losing his job. He laid out five players on the hot seat at training camp. At the top is everybody’s favorite defensive end, Cameron Heyward .

Here’s what Rutter had to say about Jackson:

Searching for a veteran to pair with second-year player Joey Porter Jr. at cornerback, the Steelers didn’t sign a free agent or use a high-round draft pick to address the position. Instead, they traded their most established wide receiver, Diontae Johnson, to Carolina to acquire Jackson, who spent his first six seasons with the Panthers.

Jackson took the first-team reps in offseason workouts, and he likely will be there Thursday for the first workout. He’s the latest veteran to get a shot at locking down an outside cornerback spot, following in the footsteps of Levi Wallace and Patrick Peterson last year.

Jackson started 16 games for Carolina last year, his most in a season since his rookie year in 2018. His primary competition will come from a pair of 2023 rookies: Cory Trice Jr. and Darius Rush. Cameron Sutton would have been a possibility until the NFL suspended him for the first half of the season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

Trading your top wide receiver with no surefire plan to replace him is a significant misstep by general manager Omar Khan. Let’s hope that Jackson can, at least, not make the Steelers regret the move.

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