<span>The New Orleans Saints continued their trend of re-signing contributing players to their roster when they announced that veteran tight end Eric Johnson has re-signed with the team for the 2008 season.   

Johnson, 28, is returning to the Saints following last season, in which he started 12 games and caught 48 passes for 378 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson, a former draft choice of the San Francisco 49ers out of Yale University, spent his first six seasons with the 49ers.

The 6-3, 252-pound tight end has played in 71 career regular season games, making 60 starts, and has caught 240 passes for 2,178 yards for an average of 9.1 yards per reception and 12 touchdowns. He caught at least two passes in all 14 games he played in for the Saints last season, including a season-high eight receptions in the season opener at Indianapolis. His 48 receptions were the fourth-most on the team, while his 378 receiving yards placed him fifth in that category.

Johnson is the second tight end to re-sign with the Saints, joining Billy Miller, who re-upped with the Black-and-Gold on Friday, March 7.