WR Johnson just looks for ball from QB

Pro Bowler offers simple description of signal-caller’s job

LAS VEGAS — With oversized sunglasses shading his eyes and a white bucket hat on his head, Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson envisioned a bright future for himself. He also put forth a fairly simple job description for the next starting quarterback.

“Somebody who can get me the ball,” Johnson said with a smile Saturday at Las Vegas Ballpark, where the AFC team was going through its final paces before Sunday’s Pro Bowl. “That’s all that matters — somebody who can throw.”

Informed that fellow Pro Bowler and longtime defensive captain Cam Heyward planned to throw his name into the mix for Ben Roethlisberger’s successor, Johnson had to shake his head.

“Definitely not Cam,” he laughed.

It’s the question everyone’s asking and everyone’s wondering as the Steelers aren’t even a month removed from the end of their seasonending playoff loss at Kansas City. Mason Rudolph? Dwayne Haskins? Someone who’s not even on the roster just yet but will be added at somepoint this offseason?

Johnson didn’t immediately endorse either holdover quarterback when he spoke with reporters the day after the Chiefs game, and he had much the same take Saturday in Vegas. Naturally, Roethlisberger’s replacement will be chosen by those well above Johnson’s head.

“I’m not sure. I’m just letting them do what they do,” he said of the front office. “Whoever they bring in, I’m sure they’re going to bring in a great guy. If it’s a veteran, a rookie, they’re going to do what they’ve got to do to get us in the right position.”

But given a chance to evaluate the chances of the guys he already knows — and, significant for both, his rapport with each — Johnson was more expansive than he was in the immediate aftermath of Roethlisbeger’s swan song.

“I’m familiar with both of them, got a couple passes with them during [training] camp,” Johnson said of Rudolph and Haskins. “It’s not like I’m not familiar with how they throw. Both of them have got great arms, great accuracy, they throw the ball wherever it needs to be. Like I said, it’s just going to come down to the end, who wants it the most out of those two — or whoever’s competing for the job.”

The other member of the Steelers offense enjoying his first Pro Bowl experience — and he’s 1 for 1 on making it — wasn’t quite as interested in discussing who will be handing off or throwing to him next season.

Running back Najee Harris isn’t a rookie anymore, but he wasn’t about to tip his hand on the quarterback situation. At least not the way he did last week in an interview with CBS Sports HQ, in which he threw out Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers and Jimmy Garoppolo as potential heirs to Roethlisberger. Harris didn’t even want to get into whether he’ll take on more of a leadership role in Year 2 with Roethlisberger heading off into retirement.

“I’m not trying to answer any questions about the Steelers offense right now,” Harris said with a grin. “I’m just trying to enjoy myself right now.”

Even the other Steelers in attendance, veterans Heyward and T.J. Watt, are “just kicking it,” according to Harris. Of all the positives that come from playing in this all-star game, being around elite contemporaries can have its perks, and Johnson managed to work in a little bit of business.

“I was just over there talking to Travis Kelce about how he reads a defense, how he runs his routes and certain stuff — how he stems people,” Johnson said of the star Chiefs tight end. “He was giving me a few pointers of what he does, and I feel like I canadd that to my toolbox.”

Did we mention Johnson and Harris are soaking it all in? The Vegas sunshine helped improve the outlook for an otherwise frigid few days of Pro Bowl festivities.

Johnson called it “a dream come true” and a “blessing” to be inserted as an alternate after Bengals wideout Ja’Marr Chase dropped out of the Pro Bowl because he’ll be playing in the Super Bowl.