Head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin, refutes the idea that wide receiver Diontae Johnson’s plea to be traded to another team in the NFL led to the acquisition of CB Donte Jackson. When he made his remarks at yesterday’s annual league meetings, at least, he denied knowing anything about that.
Rather, in line with Jackson’s remarks, he framed the transaction as the Steelers acquiring a player they had long desired. He claimed that Tomlin and Pittsburgh followed him closely during the trade process. Tomlin essentially made the same statement—or one that was somewhat similar—through Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writer Joe Rutter.
“We had the chance to acquire D-Jack, a player we have admired since he joined the league,” he remarked. Jackson claimed that Tomlin thoroughly scouted him ahead of the draft. He added that the Steelers were interested in him before the trade deadline of the previous year and were still looking for him when he inked his second contract. He was Tomlin’s for “years and years.”
Tomlin now has Jackson in his secondary, starting opposite Joey Porter Jr. Call it delayed satisfaction. The 28-year-old veteran has 14 interceptions in his career, despite recording none in 2023. In theory, he should appear more like his previous self this year after rupturing his Achilles tendon during the 2022 season.
Jackson, a second-round selection out of LSU, is very fast but not quite the right stature for a perimeter cornerback. The Steelers’ secondary can use speed, and he still demonstrated his quickness a year ago after recovering from an Achilles injury.
Reporters like Gerry Dulac called the Johnson trade addition by subtraction, beating the drum. Of course, Tomlin presents a different image, but I believe we can conclude that they consider Jackson to be a very valuable player.
Ultimately, there’s little reason to doubt that they attempted to acquire him through a trade the previous year. The Baltimore Ravens signed running back Derrick Henry this offseason, but they now admitted that they attempted to trade for him last year. These things frequently occur, and Tomlin has previously acknowledged that they “valued” him on multiple occasions.
And by valuing, what does he mean, in your opinion? Quite understandably, he’s talking about previous chances to have him on the roster. In passing, Brooke Pryor of ESPN reported that Tomlin used the term “evaluated,” which is equivalent in this context. The point is that they repeatedly expressed interest in him, and now they own him.
In 2018, the Carolina Panthers selected wide receiver James Washington after trading for Jackson, five spots ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even with Joe Haden as their starting cornerback at the moment, they continued to question Artie Burns’s long-term prospects. That season, the latter ended up splitting time with Coty Sensabaugh before losing his starting position.
The Steelers also received some cap relief because Jackson, on top of everything else, accepted a wage cut in order to come here. That clearly indicates that, as far as we are aware, Johnson was the more valuable player in the exchange. However, what we’ve heard suggests that the Steelers didn’t view Jackson as a comfort, but rather as someone to be appreciated.
