The New England Patriots added some fullback and tight end depth Monday, but don’t expect Jakob Johnson to contribute during the 2019 season.
The Patriots signed Johnson, 24, as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. Johnson, who hails from Stuttgart, Germany, can make the Patriots’ 53-man roster out of training camp. If he doesn’t, he can take up an additional spot on the Patriots’ practice squad but cannot be signed to the active roster.
Johnson played for the German Football League’s Stuttgart Scorpions as a fullback and tight end. He caught 43 passes for 474 yards with four touchdowns during the 2018 season. He also registered 12 tackles.
Johnson caught three passes for 23 yards in four seasons at the University of Tennessee. He also added 24 tackles.
Johnson was born in Stuttgart and played one year of high school football in the United States at Jean Ribault High School in Jacksonville, Fla.
Johnson is a long shot for the Patriots’ 2019 roster, but New England only has Matt LaCosse, Jacob Hollister, Stephen Anderson and Ryan Izzo on their current tight end depth chart.
The Patriots drafted German offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft. They also had German defensive tackle Markus Kuhn on their 2016 training camp roster.
