Juwan Johnson didn't want to leave the New Orleans Saints, so he didn't.
The fifth-year tight end addressed the media Monday in his first news conference since signing a three-year contract extension, which allowed him to extend a journey that began as an undrafted receiver in 2020 and has evolved into a productive, veteran tight end.
"Just me coming in with a $10,000 signing bonus; I bet those guys upstairs didn't think they were going to sign a guy for $20 million (guaranteed)," Johnson said. "It just shows more of how I trusted in God and Him having me be fruitful with little so that I could be fruitful with much."
Johnson, a college receiver at Oregon, played that position his first two years and caught 17 passes for 198 yards and four touchdowns before being converted to tight end.
He caught a career-high seven touchdowns in his first year at the position, 2022, and last year finished with career highs in receptions (50) and receiving yards (548) and added three touchdowns while playing all 17 games.
"Honestly, I just wanted to play and I love football," he said. "I didn't care where I was in the NFL, I just wanted to play football. I wanted to make a living for myself and I wanted to glorify God with the talents that I have.
"That's all I wanted to do – I didn't care if I was a tight end, I didn't care if I was a defensive end. I just wanted to play football and do what I could to just stay in the league."
Staying with the Saints required a late-night phone call to first-year head coach Kellen Moore, as Johnson weighed his options as an unrestricted free agent.
"I called Kellen and it was like 11, 12 o'clock at night and I was like, 'What's the deal? Why do you guys want me, really?'" Johnson said. "He got on the phone and we talked it out."
Johnson said he wanted to know the vision for the team and for his use and once those answers were satisfactory, he was able to return to the place that he didn't want to leave, anyway.
Now, he said, the goal is to have a season in which the production is consistent from beginning to end.
Last year, with starting receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed sidelined by injuries, his production spiked in the last six games: 25 catches (on 34 targets) for 271 yards and a touchdown.
"To be totally honest, it makes me happy but it also makes me upset, because I don't want to just be a guy that's used when guys are (injured)," he said. "That's the one thing I'm going to work on this season, is putting a complete season together where from start to finish, nobody can tell whether he came on late or he came on early.
"I think that's why these guys brought me back, because they've seen what I can do on 5800 Airline Drive (at the Saints practice facility) and they want to see that in the Superdome. Because they've seen it all the time here but sometimes it just doesn't show up on Sunday."
