Once again, the Pittsburgh Steelers have made headlines for drama in the locker room. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson was frustrated during the Week 11 game against the Cleveland Browns and was apparently “chirping” on the sidelines when Mikah Fitzpatrick took note of the bad attitude. Reportedly, the two players got into a heated altercation in the locker room and needed to be restrained by T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward.
Diontae Johnson’s Poor Performance
The Week 11 game against the Cleveland Browns did not go particularly well for Johnson or the Steelers defense. Johnson was held to two catches as the Steelers were beaten 13-10 on a game-ending field goal. According to league sources, Johnson was reportedly complaining to coaches all the way into the locker room when Fitzpatrick took offense.
After breaking them up, T.J. Watt gave a locker room speech telling his team to stick together during tough losses such as the one they experienced on Sunday. The Steelers remain the third Wild Card team as of right now and would make the playoffs if the season ended today.
Mike Tomlin’s struggle with disciplining the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Offensive Players
The biggest story though is the apparent struggle Tomlin has in maintaining discipline amongst his offensive firepower. Tomlin has maintained an excellent record as a head coach, being one of a select few of head coaches to never have a losing season throughout a long head coaching tenure. The issues off the field however have been substantial and have led to him having a high level of turnover at the offensive skill positions.
Le’veon Bell Contract Negotiations with the Pittsburgh Steelers
Former NFL Running back and Steelers superstar Le’Veon Bell had a contentious contract dispute in 2017 where Bell became one of the few players in recent memory to hold out for an entire season. There was significant discussion every single week of that season regarding the end of the hold out but Bell kept refusing and had several photos posted with drugs at the time.
Bell was a major distraction the entire season and ended up leaving the Steelers at the end of the season. While he ultimately got a high end contract with the Jets, his career was never the same after leaving the Steelers and he quickly fell off the map as an NFL player.
The Beginning of the Antonio Brown Drama
Antonio Brown was an elite player for the Steelers over the course of his tenure with the team but had a tendency to be a major distraction for his team. The 2019 training camp where Antonio Brown became such a nightmare for Tomlin that he ended up being traded to the Oakland Raiders.
Brown’s tenure with the raiders was equally tumultuous after he made physical contact with the general manager and had an incident with frostbite in a cryotherapy machine. He was released by the Oakland Raiders and played for several teams before his antics prevented any team from signing him again in 2021.
Tomlin’s Issues have limited the ability of the Pittsburgh Steelers to retain Offensive Talent
Mike Tomlin has been a remarkable coach in terms of his success on the football field but these incidents with offensive star power has limited his ability to maintain an elite offense. There has been some argument that these incidents were related to the personality of former starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger but it appears that the drama has continued well past the elite quarterbacks retirement. While Tomlin maintained his high powered offense with Roethlisberger under center, it may cripple him when he is relying on young quarterback Kenny Pickett.