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    • Did Ravens or Panthers win a deal for WR?
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    Did Ravens or Panthers win a deal for WR?

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    The ongoing flurry of activity ahead of next week’s NFL trade deadline continued Tuesday as teams, particularly those in the AFC, continue to try to keep up with the Joneses — or Johnsons, or Adamses, or Coopers or Hopkinses — by upgrade to a wide receiver.

    The latest move was made by the Baltimore Ravens, who brought Diontae Johnson back to the AFC North merely for the price of a late-round pick swap with the Carolina Panthers.

    How will this move affect the balance of power in the conference? Perhaps in more ways than you might realize.

    Here are the winners, losers and numbers for this month’s last major trade, which falls exactly a week before the November 5 closing date:

    WINNERS

    Baltimore Ravens

    They add another weapon to what is arguably the league’s most dangerous and multi-dimensional offense. Would you like to load the box? attempt and stop the constant threat of QB Lamar Jackson and/or RB Derrick Henry? Cool. Jackson is just going to take you apart by throwing to the league’s best tight end combo (Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely) or a corps of wideouts with first-round pedigree (Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor), a group which now counts former third-rounder Johnson in its ranks. But if defenses are worried about quality passers… welp, that hardly seems like a viable option if you had to draw resources from combating the NFL’s No. 1 rushing attack. Do you choose poison? A quick death might be preferable.

    Eric DeCosta

    He was one of the league’s best general managers and learned quite well during a decades-long apprenticeship with predecessor and Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome. DeCosta nabbed Johnson for less than a number, making him the latest substantive addition in what has become a tradition in Baltimore over the years – players like LB Roquan Smith, CB Marcus Peters, OLB Yannick Ngakoue and LT Eugene Monroe are among the important ones types who have joined the Ravens midway through a season.

    Diontae Johnson

    He switches sides from arguably the league’s worst team in Carolina to perhaps the best in Baltimore. Johnson will be a free agent after this season and could ultimately be rewarded by the fact that there is almost always a premium associated with signing players who just won a ring… if he can indeed help put the Ravens over the top in their quest to win the ring. franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy in 12 years.

    LOSERS

    Diontae Johnson

    It will be virtually impossible to get compensation for the No. 1 receiver — or even an expensive WR2 salary — when you face the prospect of joining your fourth team in a year next March. And the downside of coming up with such a diversified offense from an individual perspective is that there are all mouths to feed. Johnson, who missed last weekend’s game, was on pace for about 70 receptions and 800 yards amid Carolina’s highly restrictive situation. But it will likely be difficult to reach even those modest benchmarks in Baltimore, where Flowers (5.1) is the only player averaging more than three grabs per week.

    Then Morgan

    You can’t blame the Panthers’ rookie general for much of the state of play for a franchise headed for the top spot of yet another NFL draft. But when Morgan looks at the long-term health of his organization, getting an upgraded Day 3 pick for a player of Johnson’s caliber doesn’t feel like much of a return. And don’t forget, he paid Pro Bowl OLB Brian Burns in the offseason, essentially for a second-rounder from the New York Giants. That felt light at the time, too, and it’s worth wondering if Carolina could have gotten at least as much for Burns by keeping him and trying to create some sort of bidding war now given the premium position he plays. Maybe Morgan is making the best of a bad hand. And maybe he’s not playing his cards right.

    Pittsburgh Steelers

    While they also traded late-round picks, they sent Johnson to the Panthers in March for CB Donte Jackson, who hasn’t provided much defensively for a Steelers team that could really use another receiver right now. Pittsburgh only exported Johnson because of performance issues, but in retrospect it could be doubly hurt by his offensive absence and presence on the archrival Ravens (5-3), who are currently one game behind the first-place Steelers in the AFC North. .

    Bryce Young

    The No. 1 goal in Carolina right now should be rehabbing the quarterback taken with the top pick in the 2023 draft… which seems like a monumental mistake at this point, even if many of the adverse circumstances are beyond one’s control from Young. Only the Panthers know if Johnson’s presence did nothing to accelerate Young’s development. And his departure will certainly bring more attention to young receivers Xavier Legette, Jonathan Mingo and Jalen Coker…although it’s tough to suggest that very green pass catchers will elevate a 23-year-old signal caller who really needs a security blanket has , especially with Adam Thielen still on injured reserve.

    Houston Texans

    They announced Tuesday that WR Stefon Diggs, whose contract expired after this year when he was signed last spring, will not return this year due to a season-ending ACL injury. Johnson would have been a pretty useful addition — Nico Collins isn’t eligible to return from a hamstring injury until Week 10 — especially considering the low payout. But GM Nick Caserio apparently didn’t try or want to pull the trigger for Johnson.

    Baltimore Ravens

    Perhaps there are more tricks in DeCosta’s bag, but shouldn’t he be focusing on trying to shore up a 25th-ranked defense instead of an offense that’s already functioning at a historically good level — just fourth in at least 20? points and 375 yards in each of the first eight games of a season? Stay informed.

    DIONTAE JOHNSON TRADING RANKS

    Baltimore Ravens: A

    They got Johnson and a sixth-rounder for a Round 5 pick in next year’s draft. Baltimore’s depth is increased, the offense is even scarier and – for good reason – Johnson won’t end up on the roster of another team like Houston, the Los Angeles Chargers or anything else and potentially cause the Ravens an unnecessary problem in January. .

    Carolina Panthers: D+

    At least they got something (barely) instead of letting Johnson walk away for nothing in 2025. And maybe there was an element of addition by subtraction in the locker room. But if improving a Day 3 draft pick was the best thing on the table for Morgan… why not walk away from the table temporarily or until next week and see how Week 9 would have further changed the market?

    ***

    Follow Nate Davis of USA TODAY Sports on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.

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