According to Jordan Schultz, the Saints plan to re-sign tight end Juwan Johnson to a three-year deal. The contract includes $30.75 million and maxes out at $34.5M.
Johnson gets $21.25M guaranteed in the deal.
Johnson was expected to have a lot of interest from former Saints head coach Sean Payton on the open market during free agency. It is unknown how much interest Denver showed, but they ultimately did not win out for the emerging receiving threat.
The Saints tight end discussed his desire to go somewhere where he felt valued during free agency. New Orleans spoke up to that point with their wallets.
For New Orleans, that was a hefty price to pay for a tight end who has dealt with multiple injuries over the past couple of seasons. That’s of no fault of Johnson, necessarily, but some of that lack of availability has hindered the passing game at times.
Johnson is a notable, downfield target for Derek Carr and has shown some impressive upside. At $10M per year on his deal, Johnson needs to show greater consistency going forward for the Saints.
Kellen Moore may play a major role in assuring that happens, too. Philadelphia Eagles TE Dallas Goedert reemerged as a huge piece of their offense this past season under Moore’s tutelage.
We will see how this deal turns out for both sides, but Johnson will get quite the payday from New Orleans if this deal holds up to close out the week.
