David Johnson tweeted a cryptic message Tuesday that read: “Surrounded by enemies, I know they praying for my down fall. They really want to see the end of me, know I won’t fold imma stand tall!”
Johnson clarified Wednesday that he was referring to Steelers fans and not frustration with his role.
“I was looking at the photo and there were a lot of Steeler fans,” Johnson said, via Kyle Odegard of the team website. “Even on the way to the game, there were Steelers fans at the hotel. There were Steelers fans everywhere. It was odd that it was our home game and there were so many Steelers fans. I have a list of lyrics that I like from Christian rappers. I saw the photo, and that seemed pretty accurate.
“Also, just fantasy [football criticism]. That’s probably all I get on social media. Anywhere I go it’s probably about fantasy. It was a little bit of that as well.”
Johnson no longer is a starter despite his $9.75 million cap number being the highest at his position in the entire league. He has only 18 touches the past five games, though he used his five touches Sunday for 53 yards and a touchdown.
Johnson said he has spoken to the coaching staff, saying he is “obviously not” satisfied with being a role player behind Kenyan Drake.
“Any NFL player, any competitor, if you’re not on the field, you’re obviously going to be upset about it,” Johnson said.