Diontae Johnson Apologizes For Lousy Effort And Says He'll Never Throw A Tantrum Again (He Will)

Take a wide receiver with 'diva' tendencies with a promise that he'll never display such bad behavior again and ... you've got a ticking time bomb.

Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Diontae Johnson finds himself in a bit of a pickle after showcasing the lowest effort possible on an NFL field in Sunday's 16-10 win over Cincinnati.

Johnson let a loose fumble fall to the Bengals' defense without much care. Consistently unhappy with his role in the offense, Johnson's antics were surprising but not entirely.

READ: DIONTAE JOHNSON COMPLETELY GIVES UP ON PLAY, BUT STEELERS STILL BEAT BENGALS

Fans were upset with the moody WR, and Johnson's finally taking accountability.

On Wednesday, Johnson informed the media that he's "not perfect" and will strive to never exhibit such disregard for his job ever again.

Any sane bettors taking that?

Diontae Johnson Apologizes For Costly Play (Or Lack Of)

"I addressed the situation to my teammates," Johnson told reporters. "They know how I feel and how I should go about the situation the next time it occurs. I own up to it. I'm not perfect. All I can do is move forward and keep playing football.

"I didn't know the play was still going," he added. "If I could make the play again, I would jump on the ball."

In Week 11, Johnson argued with a Steelers coach on the sideline, demanding more action on the field. His ego off the field hasn't matched his production. In 2022, Johnson tallied 882 receiving yards but produced zero touchdowns. Johnson has seven games (12 weeks) played this season, logging 30 catches for 383 yards and one touchdown.

Essentially a low-end WR2 with a WR1 attitude. Being a top-two wideout with the Steelers simply doesn't carry that kind of clout anymore.

Needing to put his child-like players in place, Steelers head coach Tomlin went to Johnson and cooled down the receiver in Week 11's debacle.

This week, the media questioned Tomlin about Johnson's lack of effort against Cincinnati.

The coach noted that Johnson's emotions got ahold of him but deferred critiquing the player by directing the line of inquiry to Johnson.

Despite all the hoopla in the Steelers locker room, Tomlin is coaching this team beyond offseason expectations, sitting at 7-4.

Tomlin may need to deal with guys like Johnson or top wideout George Pickens over lack of offensive production.

After handling Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown as a coach, Tomlin's not worried about a couple of new cats on the block. Players will abide by Tomlin's vision, or go off the rails (in more ways than one).

Is Mike Tomlin a Coach of the Year frontrunner? Will Diontae Johnson remain on the Steelers in 2024? Let us know your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com.