Steelers WR Diontae Johnson leaves loss to 49ers early with hamstring injury
The 49ers rolled to a dominant 30-7 win over the Steelers on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson left their season-opening 30-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers early in the second half with a hamstring injury Sunday afternoon.
On the Steelers’ opening drive of the second half at Acrisure Stadium, Johnson caught a short pass from quarterback Kenny Pickett and broke down the right side of the field for a 26-yard gain. As he was brought down, however, Johnson landed awkwardly and then reached immediately for the back side of his right leg after the play ended.
Diontae Johnson injured on this play, grabbing his hamstring immediately after he goes down#SFvsPIT pic.twitter.com/krsjk6Gw8K
— crunchypuddle (@crunchypuddle1) September 10, 2023
Johnson remained on the field for quite some time while he was being tended to, and was eventually helped off the field and into the locker room. The Steelers then announced soon after that he was ruled out of the game with a hamstring injury.
#Steelers WR Diontae Johnson suffered a hamstring injury and is OUT for the rest of the game.
— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) September 10, 2023
Johnson finished the game with 48 receiving yards on three catches, which led the Steelers when he went down. The Steelers trailed the 49ers 27-7 after giving up a 65-yard touchdown run to 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey to open the second half.
Pickett finished the game 31-of-46 passing for 232 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The Steelers' lone touchdown came on a 3-yard pass to Pat Freiermuth late in the second quarter, which capped a 95-yard drive. Brock Purdy went 19-of-29 for 220 yards and threw two touchdowns in the win for San Francisco. McCaffrey had 151 rushing yards on 22 carries, and Brandon Aiyuk, who caught both touchdowns, had 129 yards on eight catches.
Johnson had 882 receiving yards last season, his fourth with the Steelers, though he did not score a touchdown for the first time in his career. The 27-year-old, who was selected in the third round in 2019, is in the first year of a two-year, $36.7 million deal with Pittsburgh.
It’s unclear how severe Johnson’s injury is, or how long he will be sidelined. The Steelers are set to host the Cleveland Browns next Monday night.
