Diontae Johnson’s time with the Ravens was brief, but it was certainly memorable.

The 28-year-old wide receiver, who was acquired in a midseason trade with the Carolina Panthers and recorded just one catch in seven weeks with the team, opened up about his tumultuous time in Baltimore in a podcast interview with former South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia earlier this month.

“That was a tough situation for me,” Johnson said in a “Sport and Suits” episode. “I love the players and stuff, I love the organization, but it just wasn’t for me.”

Johnson said that he “checked out mentally” with the Ravens, who acquired the former Pittsburgh Steelers standout in a late-round draft pick swap before the October deadline. While he was expected to play a complementary role to wideouts Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman and tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, Johnson played just 39 offensive snaps in four games as the Ravens put together one of the most efficient offenses in league history behind two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson.

“I felt like I wasn’t getting used,” said Johnson, who caught 30 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns in seven games with the Panthers. “I don’t want to say used like being selfish, but me feeling a part of (a team).”

Johnson’s frustration with his lack of involvement came to boiling point during a Week 13 game against the Philadelphia Eagles in early December when he refused to take the field after Bateman exited with a knee injury during a 24-19 defeat. Johnson was suspended one game for conduct detrimental to the team, and he was later excused from team activities before being released.

In explaining his reasoning for sitting out that game, Johnson said that he felt cold in the 41-degree weather at M&T Bank Stadium and didn’t “want to go out there and put bad stuff on film.”

“I was on the sideline just standing there, going to the heater back and forth, just waiting to hear my name called,” he said. “Then going into the fourth quarter, they’re like, ‘Tae, we need you.’ But I’m like, nah. To me I’m thinking like, ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea for me.’

“And it’s not like I didn’t want to go in the game. But you’ve got to think, like, leading up to this point, I’d been through so much. … I’d checked out mentally. I was like, ‘Whatever happens, happens.’ I was just rolling with the punches at that time. So I told them I wasn’t going in. I was like, ‘I understand what you’re saying, but I’m not (going to) go in.’ So I just sat on the bench, and that’s when they suspended me.”

The Ravens waited three days before announcing during their bye week that Johnson would be suspended. General manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement that it was a difficult decision, while coach John Harbaugh later added that “there’s some moving parts there that we’re going to have to figure out and explore and just see where we’re at.”

On Dec. 20, Johnson was officially released. According to Spotrac, he earned $500,000 with the Ravens after being paid $9.375 million by Carolina in the final year of his deal.

“I already knew if I went back (to Baltimore) I was going to be in the doghouse even more,” Johnson said. “So I just asked to get released. And I got picked up by Houston.”

His tenure with the Texans quickly turned sour as well. Johnson caught three passes in a pair of games with the team, including one in a wild-card win over the Los Angeles Chargers, but was reportedly upset in the locker room after the game.

Johnson said that the Texans made it sound as if he would be a bigger part of the offense when they signed him, but he quickly realized that he was playing behind younger players in the pecking order. He said that he tried to talk to coach DeMeco Ryans to understand his role, but to no avail.

“After that, they said I was a distraction,” Johnson said. “They released me. I’ve been home ever since.”

In a twist, Johnson was claimed off waivers by Baltimore after the season in a procedural reunion.

The Ravens hoped to gain a compensatory draft pick if Johnson signed a significant contract with another team as an unrestricted free agent, but the market for his services was slim. Johnson said that the Cleveland Browns were the only team to express interest, and he signed a one-year, $1.17 million contract in April with no guaranteed money.

“We understood the risks and the rewards,” DeCosta said of Johnson after the season. “We knew that it wasn’t 100% going to be a slam dunk. It didn’t work out. We always try to mitigate our risks. … In that particular situation, I really didn’t see a lot of downside. I think we understood what the downside might be — that he would be unhappy with his role, potentially.”

Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon.