The New Orleans Saints didn't waste any time adding a piece to their tight end room after news broke of Juwan Johnson's impending surgery.
The Saints announced Friday afternoon that they had signed former Bears and Raiders tight end Jesper Horsted. The team has waived UDFA wide receiver Kyle Sheets to make space on the roster.
Horsted was undrafted in 2019 after a career at Princeton where he was named two-time Ivy League at wide receiver. Horsted, listed at 6-3, 237 pounds, initially signed with the Bears where he was converted to tight end. He signed with the Raiders as a free agent in 2022 where he teamed up with current Saints QB Derek Carr and TE Foster Moreau.
In his career he's logged 14 catches for 131 yards and 3 touchdowns, though the majority of his work has come on special teams.
Sheets, an undrafted receiver out of Slippery Rock, was active at Saints minicamp but did not make a major impact to this point.
The next question becomes the timeline for Juwan Johnson, who is expected to miss a significant chunk of the preseason as he works back from his procedure.