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.
