Diontae Johnson not a full participant in the Steelers first practice prior to Week 1

The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 of the 2022 NFL regular season, and the hope is they will have all their weapons available in this big AFC North rivalry game.

Going back to the Week 3 preseason game vs. the Detroit Lions, the Steelers were dealing with a couple key injuries which forced players to leave the game. One injury was a knee injury to T.J. Watt when he was cut low by tight end T.J. Hockenson, and the other was a shoulder injury to Diontae Johnson.

After hauling in a beautiful throw by Mitch Trubisky down the sideline, Johnson left the game and didn’t return.

After the play, it was announced Johnson was out of the game with a shoulder injury, but after the game Mike Tomlin labeled the injury as minor. He even went as far as saying the injuries to both Watt and Johnson could have had the starters return to the game had it been the regular season.

Over a week later, and the Steelers taking advantage of the extra work day Monday, Johnson was not a full participant in the team’s practice.

This according to Nick Farabaugh of SteelersNow:

“On Monday, he worked off to the side away from the rest of the wide receivers during individual drills. The receivers ran routes while Johnson took it lightly and worked out his shoulder.”

As you can see from the tweeted photo from Brooke Pryor of ESPN, Johnson was not fully dressed during the individual portion of practice.

While some fans might see this as a cause for concern, the real concern will be if he isn’t a full participant on the first reported workout Wednesday. In the meantime, Tomlin will address this injury, among others, in his first weekly press conference Tuesday. Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the Bengals this Sunday in Cincinnati, OH.