Diontae Johnson takes Steelers spy duties to the next level by ruining Ravens locker room

Whenever the Baltimore Ravens landed veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson at the trade deadline, everyone thought GM Eric DeCosta had pulled off highway robbery of the Panthers. After all, he got a potential Pro Bowl-level talent in an already-cooking offense for a swap of the Ravens' fifth-round pick and the Panthers' sixth-rounder.

As it turns out, the Panthers may have actually won the trade — and Johnson may be a double agent working for the rival Pittsburgh Steelers given how things have turned out.

On Wednesday, the Ravens suspended the wide receiver for one game for what ESPN insider Adam Schefter described as "conduct detrimental to the team."

That in itself sounds like a real problem that John Harbaugh and the Ravens have on their hands. However, as more information has come to light, Johnson truly might be tearing down the Baltimore locker room from within.

Diontae Johnson looks like a Steelers sleeper cell for ruining Ravens locker room

DeCosta, in the wake of the suspension news, released a statement about the reasoning and, while succinct, it said absolutely everything about the situation. The Ravens GM stated that the suspension was a result of Johnson refusing to go into the team's Week 13 game against the Eagles when he was told to enter the fray.

Johnson was, of course, traded to Carolina this offseason from the Steelers, where he'd spent the entirety of his career to that point. Throughout his tenure in Pittsburgh, though, there were rumbliings of the receiver being a bit of a headache in the locker room with antics such as this. That did a lot to explain his trade price in either case of him being dealt this year, which was considered low in relation to his talent.

What's more, though, is that the suspension from the Ravens doesn't appear to be the end of the matter.

Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports reported that Baltimore will take this week to re-evaluate the situation with Johnson, who has been frustrated with his lack of usage since the deadline trade to the Ravens. More importantly, Schultz floated the idea that the Ravens could potentially elect to move on from him instead of working it out with the receiver, who's in the final year of his current contract.

Whatever the case, it hasn't worked at all to this point in Baltimore. And whether or not it was their intention (there's surely no way that it was at the time of the initial deal), trading Johnson has worked more in the Steelers' favor than they could've ever hoped.