Diontae Johnson injury update: Latest on Steelers WR for Week 15 Fantasy Football

Diontae Johnson has had a rough year with injuries and it appears to be getting worse. The injury hurts the Steelers and fantasy managers around the country, but how much? Here's a look at what's going on with the wide receiver.

Diontae Johnson at Pittsburgh Steelers v Atlanta Falcons

Diontae Johnson Injury Update

According to Sports Illustrated, Johnson showed no signs of injury in the Thursday Night Football showdown against the New England Patriots. He didn't start the week on the injury report, either. However, on Thursday morning, the Steelers now have him listed with a knee injury.

Johnson did not practice on Wednesday and now is questionable going into Week 15, although the team has not yet doled out injury labels.

What happened to Diontae Johnson?

The wide receiver appears to have suffered a knee injury in practice on Wednesday. He played last week against the New England Patriots and appears to be 0-2 on practice attendance this week. It is unclear what the knee issue specifically is.

It could be anything from a slight tweak leading to a precautionary absence or it could be something as drastic as a season-ending injury. Considering there is now about a month left, anything more than a minor injury could sideline him for the rest of 2023.

When will Diontae Johnson return?

Until more is known about the nature of the injury, his absence could be limited to this week's practices or it could last the rest of the regular season and beyond. However, depending on what the injury is, some predictions can be made based on where the Pittsburgh Steelers sit in the grand scheme of things.

At 7-6 and also facing another 7-6 team in the form of the Indianapolis Colts, this week is set to kick either the Steelers or Colts out of the Wild Card. In other words, both teams could be looking at this like a playoff game and as such, players less than 100% have an added sense of urgency to gut out the pain.

Put simply, if the wide receiver is anywhere around roughly 70-80% and if he has the ability to contribute, he'll be out there. That said, a quality game out of a wide receiver that barely cleared 10 points in each of the last two weeks might be a risky proposition for fantasy purposes.