Tag: Juwan Johnson

WATCH: Juwan Johnson scores a 16-yard touchdown to close the half

Juwan Johnson ends the first half with a bang as the Saints are up 30-3 at halftime

https://twitter.com/Saints/status/1832847595925844346

Juwan Johnson’s first catch of the year went for a New Orleans Saints touchdown.

Johnson returned from a foot injury when the Saints returned to New Orleans for the latter portion of training camp. He hasn’t been back for long, but he’s already making an impact.

Rashid Shaheed set up the offense with a short field after a dynamic punt return to the Panthers’ 16 yard line. One play later, the Saints were celebrating in the end zone.

Derek Carr continues his impressive start to the season with his third touchdown of the first half. Carr escaped the pocket and found Johnson alone by the front pylon of the end zone. Johnson rose up to make the catch and got his feet down as Panthers defenders closed in on him.

Part of the credit for this play extends to Klint Kubiak. Johnson was so wide open because Panthers players reacted to Taysom Hill coming out of backfield for a pass. Drawing defensive attention to the decoy was Kubiak’s plan, and it worked to perfection.

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Juwan Johnson could be the middle-of-the-field threat the Saints offense needs

Juwan Johnson is entering a pivotal year, and his presence could help the New Orleans Saints passing attack in one vital way:

Juwan Johnson has the best ability to raise the ceiling of the New Orleans Saints tight end room. Taysom Hill is technically listed as a tight end on the depth chart. As tempting as that would be, it’s a bit disingenuous. Hill is going to move around and line up at too many positions to pigeonhole into a single role.

Johnson is a true tight end who will give Derek Carr and New Orleans a middle of the field threat. Michael Thomas’ departure leaves that section of the field to be prime Juwan Johnson real estate.

This is the second year in a row Johnson is being looked at to step up. It took him too long to hit his stride in 2023, particularly in the middle of the field. He only caught five passes between 10 and 19 yards last season after catching 17 of them at that range in his breakout 2022 campaign. The Saints may look to find another tight end if Johnson doesn’t rebound and put it together soon.

He has the attributes to be an effective threat at tight end. Johnson is a former wide receiver who is good with the ball in his hands. This would be perfect for attacking the gap between the linebackers and safety. He could be the key player for unlocking the middle of the field for New Orleans.

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Saints restructure Juwan Johnson’s contract to open up some cap space

The Saints restructured Juwan Johnson’s contract to open up some cap space before the regular season starts:

https://twitter.com/FieldYates/status/1831452392011002098

The NFL regular season is upon us, and some teams are completing last-minute moves to cut new deals and work around the salary cap — including the New Orleans Saints. ESPN’s Field Yates reports that the Saints restructured their contract with tight end Juwan Johnson to free up $3.5 million in salary cap space.

Remember, this isn’t a raise or a pay cut. Johnson is just getting money he was already owed paid out in a different way. For the Saints, the goal was to save $3.5 million against the salary cap. The consequence? If Johnson does not sign an extension next year and leave in free agency, it’ll leave behind about $6 million in dead money. That’s nothing compared to the hefty cap hits left behind for departed free agents like Andrus Peat ($13.6 million), Michael Thomas ($11.1 million), David Onyemata ($10.1 million) and Marcus Davenport ($7.6 million), but it’s still something you’d like to avoid.

Hopefully Johnson performs well in Klint Kubiak’s offense and earns a new deal. Getting him under contract for the foreseeable future as a playmaking tight end and reliable weapon for Derek Carr (or whoever is under center in New Orleans by 2025) would be nice. But those are questions to be answered tomorrow. For today, the Saints are happy to have a little more financial flexibility, while Johnson is happy to have a little more financial security.

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Saints share unofficial depth chart for Week 1 vs. Panthers

The New Orleans Saints shared their unofficial depth chart for Week 1’s kickoff game with the Carolina Panthers:

The New Orleans Saints shared their unofficial depth chart for Week 1’s kickoff game with the Carolina Panthers. What’s new? What checks out based on what we’ve seen over the summer? Here’s our first look.

There aren’t too many surprises, but a few things do stand out. Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill are listed as the starters at tight end, ahead of Juwan Johnson. That makes sense given how much time he missed this offseason recovering from foot surgery.

On the other side of the ball, it’s Jordan Howden projected to start at safety next to Tyrann Mathieu, not Will Harris or Johnathan Abram, who both played ahead of him throughout the preseason.

And there are two positions hit with the controversial “or” designation: defensive end and quarterback. Either Carl Granderson or Chase Young is penciled in to start across from Cameron Jordan, while the backup quarterback will be either Jake Haener or Spencer Rattler.

In the former case, it’s probably a situation where the Saints don’t want to ruffle anyone’s feathers and label either deserving veteran the starting right defensive end. In the latter case, they want the young quarterbacks to keep pushing each other and prove why they should be the next man up if Derek Carr has to miss any time.

Now with that said, it’s important to remember this depth chart is unofficial and created by the media relations staff, not the coaches or anyone in the front office. It’s a projection not a set-in-stone lineup. What we see on Sunday may look different but the broad strokes should remain the same. See for yourself, and remember that starters’ names are emboldened while rookies are underlined:

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Juwan Johnson shares health update: ‘I would like to say I’m 100’

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson shared a health update after returning to practice: ‘I would like to say I’m 100’

Juwan Johnson made his New Orleans Saints training camp debut on Tuesday. Last time we saw Johnson was in minicamp before going down with a foot injury.

He was asked after practice how he felt, to which Johnson replied, “I would like to say I’m 100 (percent).” The operative words here are “‘I would like to say.’”

Sometimes players feel ready to go mentally before they’re actually ready to go physically, and Johnson understands that his perception may not be reality on his health. Dennis Allen has already made it clear that while Johnson is back at practice, but the Saints will ease him back into his usual workload.

While Johnson felt great, the medical team had to real him in at certain points in his recovery. He continued, “They’ve been really patient. I’ve been pushing the envelope a little bit, a little too much to be honest.”

His pushing the envelope was evident. WWL’s Jeff Nowak praised how crisp Johnson looked. It wouldn’t be shocking if Johnson felt he could have returned even earlier. He chalked his return date up to him not being meant to practice in California. Now that the team is back in Louisiana, he’s working to get up to speed.

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Saints to ramp up Juwan Johnson ‘slowly but surely’

Dennis Allen says the Saints are taking the slow and safe route with Juwan Johnson, but he acknowledges the value in the timing of Johnson’s return:

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson returned to practice on Tuesday. It was the team’s first open practice at Yulman Stadium, and fans were treated to something special. Publicly, Johnson’s path to return took expedited turn north when he was removed from the physically unable to perform list.

Now that Johnson has returned, Saints head coach Dennis Allen says the plan is to “slowly but surely start to ramp him up.” They’re excited to have him back. Johnson’s return comes at a good time for the team.

“We need him, we need (Rashid) Shaheed, we need some of these players that we’re counting on in the passing game, so we can get the timing and the rhythm in the passing game,” Allen said after practice.

Johnson has missed the entirety of camp while recovering from offseason foot surgery. These two weeks before the season opener will be vital for him actually getting reps in the new offense. He’s surely continued to study and learn the playbook, but there’s no replacement for actually running the plays.

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Saints activate Juwan Johnson from PUP list ahead of Tulane practice

The Saints activated tight end Juwan Johnson from their PUP list ahead of Tuesday’s open practice session. He’s bringing a big boost to the offense:

The New Orleans Saints activated tight end Juwan Johnson from their PUP list ahead of Tuesday’s open practice session at Tulane’s Yulman Stadium, as first reported by Matthew Paras for the Times-Picayune | Advocate. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill adds that Johnson “is expected to practice in some fashion today.” Johnson is also scheduled to speak with local media afterwards.

He’s bringing a big boost to the offense as their best pass-catching tight end. Johnson’s first year with Derek Carr at quarterback finished strong when he scored three touchdown catches in their last four games, totaling 17 receptions for 216 yards through those four weeks.

They need him to pick up where he left off, but it may take some time for him to knock off the rust. Johnson had surgery in the spring after developing a stress fracture in his foot at minicamp which sidelined him for most of the summer, including all 18 practices at the team’s Irvine training camp and two preseason games.

Still, he and Carr developed some chemistry down the stretch last year, and the Saints have more than two weeks until the regular season starts. Johnson projects as a good fit in Klint Kubiak’s offense but the first real steps to meeting that potential start in front of fans on Tuesday night.

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Juwan Johnson’s recovery from foot surgery ‘progressing on schedule’

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson’s recovery from foot surgery is on schedule, and the team could have him back soon. They’ll need his help:

Here’s some good news on Juwan Johnson. The New Orleans Saints tight end’s recovery from foot surgery is “progressing on schedule” and he could return to the lineup soon, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. Johnson developed a stress fracture in his foot during minicamp practices in the spring and has been slowly ramping up at training camp to prepare for the start of the regular season.

The goal all along was for Johnson to return in time for the Saints’ Week 1 kickoff with the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 8, and it sounds like that’s still the expectation. And the team could use his help. Foster Moreau and Dallin Holker have taken most of the snaps at tight end through training camp but Holker sprained an ankle warming up for Sunday night’s preseason game with the San Francisco 49ers. Getting Johnson back out there would be good for everyone.

Johnson fell back to Earth a bit last year with Derek Carr at quarterback, totaling just 37 receptions for 368 yards and 4 touchdowns, but he finished the season strong and he projects favorably in Klint Kubiak’s offense. We just may have to wait until Week 1 to get a look at him in this new system.

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Saints bring back TE Mason Fairchild, waive rookie DT Kyler Baugh

The New Orleans Saints waived rookie defensive tackle Kyler Baugh and brought back tight end Mason Fairchild, who was signed and let go just last week:

We’re only 14 days through the month of August and it’s already been an eventful two weeks for Mason Fairchild. Fairchild initially signed with the Saints on Aug. 3. He, along with another tight end, was a part of a move to restock the room after a couple of injuries.

Just four days later the Saints waived him. But on Wednesday, New Orleans brought Fairchild back. Juwan Johnson is still out recovering from foot surgery, so the Saints remain in need of depth during training camp.

There are players who often go through a back-and-forth routine of being signed and waived this time of the year. A player who has gone through something similar is offensive lineman Mark Evans II. Ironically, their paths crossed on Aug. 7 when Fairchild was waived and Evans was signed.

To make room for the addition of Fairchild, the Saints parted ways with rookie defensive tackle Kyler Baugh. Just like Fairchild, there is still a chance the undrafted free agent rookie returns before the end of camp, but we’ll see where he lands next.

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Fantasy football preview: New Orleans Saints aerial attack

Do the Saints offer fantasy draft picks behind their standout WR1?

In analyzing any team’s passing game for fantasy football talent, everything starts with who is throwing the ball. If you have don’t have an elite quarterback, everyone’s value takes a hit.

The New Orleans Saints do not have one.

In most ADP rankings, Derek Carr is on the cusp of being left off drafted rosters. Do you take Carr over someone like Geno Smith, Will Levis, Daniel Jones or Bryce Young? There isn’t a lot of confidence that Carr can get the job done as anything but a one-week plug-in for a desperate fantasy roster.

One certainty is that Carr has locked in on his primary target – wide receiver Chris Olave, who was targeted 138 times in 16 games last season, catching 87 passes for 1,123 yards and five touchdowns. He’s on the border of a WR1 or WR2 in 12-team fantasy leagues. The rest of those in the Saints’ passing game are a different story. They’ll be fighting for what’s left beyond Olave.