Saints sign a veteran tight end as Juwan Johnson deals with a foot injury

During mandatory minicamp for the New Orleans Saints, it was reported that the team’s top tight end, Juwan Johnson, would undergo foot surgery. Johnson is expected to be sidelined for a while, but the hope, and belief, is that he won’t miss any time during the regular season. With the team now on break until the start of training camp in late July, Johnson has time to heal up.

The Saints, however, seem to be getting prepared just in case Johnson is out longer than expected. Recently, New Orleans signed veteran tight end Jesper Horsted, keeping depth in the team’s tight end room.

Saints sign tight end Jesper Horsted

Horsted has been in the NFL since going undrafted out of Princeton in 2019. He spent his first three seasons in the league with the Chicago Bears, then played the last two years with the Las Vegas Raiders. He has already played one season with Saints quarterback Derek Carr, though, the two didn’t have much action together in regular season games.

Horsted hasn’t had much production in his career, playing in 41 total games. In 2019 he caught eight passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. In 2021, he only had two catches for 21 yards, but both receptions were touchdowns. In 2022, he caught three passes for 19 yards, and in 2023, just one catch for four yards. However, he has had value on special teams, playing nearly 50% or more of his team’s special teams snaps in three of his four active seasons.

If he sticks around and makes the roster in New Orleans, it will probably be for special teams. With Juwan Johnson expected to be ready in time for the season, Taysom Hill still helping out, and promising rookie Dallin Holker, Horsted will likely be a depth piece that helps out on special teams.