LATROBE, Pa. -- With Chris Boswell's contract extension now behind him, the next big thing on first-year GM Omar Khan's to-do list with the Steelers is to sort through what to do with wide receiver Diontae Johnson.
Johnson is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is scheduled to make just over $2.7 million this season. But he'd like a contract extension that would give him long-term financial stability and has staged a hold-in over the first week of the Steelers training camp here at Saint Vincent College.
Johnson is working on his own and even doing positional drills. But when the team begins 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills, he doesn't participate.
It's the first major test for Khan, who took over for longtime GM Kevin Colbert after this year's draft.
"You want everyone out practicing, but we’ve taken the approach that we’re using it as an opportunity to look at the other guys that are practicing, get them some good work," Khan said Tuesday. "I can say, we want Diontae. We’re excited to have Diontae as part of this team. We hope he’s going to be a Steeler for a long time.
It's a tactic taken by T.J. Watt a year ago that ended with him signing what was then the highest-paid contract for an NFL defensive player. Minkah Fitzpatrick also didn't take part in team drills at minicamp this year before signing a contract that made him the highest-paid safety in the NFL.
A number of other wide receivers across the league who, like Johnson were in the 2019 rookie class, also staged hold-ins to some degree. But in the past week alone, Seattle's DK Metcalf and Deebo Samuel of the 49ers have signed three-year deals that pay them just short of an average of $25 million per year.
Khan said the Steelers have been in contact with Johnson's agent, Bradley Cicala, and when the Metcalf and Samuel deals were completed, they can be factored into the talks.
"When things happen, the conversations, it adds to the conversation," Khan said. "Let me put it that way."
Those deals were part of a record-breaking offseason for the wide receiver position across the league, where established stars such as Davonte Adams and Tyreek Hill have gotten deals worth $25 million or more per season, while the 2019 draft class, which includes Metcalf, Samuel, Washington's Terry McLaurin and A.J. Brown, who was traded to the Eagles in the offseason, all received contracts for north of $20 million per year.
Johnson, a third-round pick in that draft, can make a case he deserves to be paid like those players. His 254 receptions are the most of any player from the 2019 draft class, while 2,764 yards ranks fourth, as do his 20 touchdown catches. He also was a second-team All-Pro player in 2019 as a punt returner and posted 107 receptions in 2021, earning his first Pro Bowl nod.
For the Steelers, it comes down to whether or not they want to pay a wide receiver $20 or more million per season.
Khan and the Steelers are certainly cognizant of the explosion of wide receiver salaries across the league as the league recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and the salary cap continues to grow via television contracts and other revenue streams.
The salary cap, which actually went down from 2020 to 2021 because of the pandemic, jumped from $182 million last season to $208.2 million in 2022. It's expected to approach as much as $250 million in the next couple of years.
"It’s a function of the times and the system that we’re in," Khan said of the money being doled out to wide receivers. "It’s part of the process. Regardless of the position, I assume those things are going to keep growing. As the CBA grows, contracts will grow."
But given the Steelers' history of drafting and developing wide receivers, they have to ask themselves if they want to invest that kind of money in a player at the position who, at 26, isn't quite among the elite receivers in the league, but has certainly established himself as the team's No. 1 player at the position.
The Steelers also selected two wide receivers in this year's draft in second-round pick George Pickens and fourth-rounder Calvin Austin III.
With Johnson sitting out practices, both have gotten plenty of work in this training camp.
"We have certain characteristics we look at. We’ve stayed true to our belief and it’s worked for us," Khan said of the team's approach to drafting wide receivers.
"You guys have seen George out there. He brings a lot of energy."
At some point, the Steelers and Johnson are going to have to come to a decision. They'll either reach an agreement on a contract extension -- Johnson also has said he wants to be with the Steelers -- or they'll break off negotiations. And the Steelers will continue their longtime policy of not negotiating new contracts for their current players during the season, a tactic that harkens back to longtime team president, the late Dan Rooney's days.
In the meantime, there are options out there the Steelers could take, but Khan isn't worried about those. They could potentially fine Johnson internally or even consider trading him. But Khan has his eye on getting Johnson under contract for the long term.
"There are options out there. But we’re focused on, we want Diontae here," Khan said.
