It wasn’t long ago that we were informed that Juwan Johnson would be undergoing surgery on his foot. The expectation was that he’d miss a significant amount of time, with the hope that he’d be at least ready for the regular season opener. Not only is he way ahead of schedule, but he’s already made an appearance at training camp.
Johnson was caught warming up in pads on the practice field, catching passes from the Jugs machine. The surgery he underwent was due to a stress fracture he suffered during minicamp, eventually getting him placed on the PUP list. Surprisingly, he’s even out on the field this early given the circumstances, but Saints fans are certainly not complaining about that.
Given all of the information we have about Johnson’s injury, the usual timetable is four to 12 weeks. The team was making it pretty clear that they wanted him to make the regular season opener and didn’t mind if it took until then for him to be 100 percent medically. I’d prefer it not to be that long, but it’d also be nice for Johnson to get out there in training camp for some practice without pushing himself too far. The fact that he’s out there means we could be way ahead of schedule and getting him fully healthy during camp means that he can stay in rhythm marching into the season.
Juwan Johnson Has His Work Cut Out For Him
If for some reason Johnson suffers a setback or gets taken out of practice for the next few weeks, the Saints have other options that they’ll need to be looking into at tight end. Dallin Holker is a name that’s picked up some steam around the Saints build. He’s an undrafted rookie who’s made several plays in such a short amount of time in the organization. If Johnson continues to miss time, Holker will get the chance to compete for more reps alongside Foster Moreau. Plus, there’s even another tight end name Michael Jacobson, who spent almost all of the 2023 season on the Saints practice squad. Jacobson has made a name for himself as well, giving the Saints a good couple of options even with their main starter out of action. Although, it doesn’t hurt that they always have the Swiss army knife Taysom Hill on their roster to help play tight end in case they need some extra depth.
All in all, Johnson getting on the field is wonderful news. He had been wearing a fully protective medical boot on his foot since the surgery, though he didn’t have it on during camp. He was seen individually working out with a training staff member before going out and catching some passes from the Jugs machine, and after. The signs point towards him getting some action, and he might need to with the noise that’s come out regarding some of the other tight ends on the roster and how they’ve performed with the increased opportunity.