Jesper Horsted (born February 27, 1997) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at Princeton.

College career

Horsted played

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the Princeton Tigers for four seasons. As a junior, he set school records with 92 receptions and 14 receiving

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

with 1,226 yards and was named first-team All-

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

. He caught 72 passes for 1,047 yards with 13 touchdowns in his senior season and was again named first-team All-Ivy. He finished his collegiate career as the schools all-time leader with 196 receptions and 28 receiving touchdowns and second with 2,703 receiving yards. Horsted also was a member of the Princeton baseball team. He hit .324 with seven doubles and 14 RBIs in 36 games as a junior and batted .312 in 104 games over three seasons.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

2019

Horsted signed with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on May 13, 2019. He was cut at the end of

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

, but was re-signed to the Bears'

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on September 1. Horsted was promoted to the Bears active roster on November 20. He made his NFL debut on November 24 against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, catching one pass for four yards. Four days later against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, he was named starting tight end as injuries plagued his teammates. In the third quarter, he scored his first NFL touchdown on an 18-yard reception from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky; the score tied the game at 17-all, and the Bears went on to win 24–20. Horsted finished his rookie season with eight receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown in six games played with one start.

2020

Horsted was among the final roster cuts on September 5, 2020, and was placed on the practice squad a day later. On January 11, 2021, Horsted signed a reserve/futures contract with the Bears, after spending the 2020 season on the Bears' practice squad.

2021

On August 28, 2021, Horsted caught three touchdown passes in the Bears' preseason finale against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

. He secured a spot on the Bears' 53-man roster for the 2021 season. On October 10, Horsted caught a two-yard touchdown from Justin Fields in a game against the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

, marking Fields’ first career passing touchdown in the NFL. He finished the season scoring two touchdowns and making two receptions for 21 yards, in seven games played with zero starts.

2022

On May 11, 2022, Horsted was waived following a failed physical.

Las Vegas Raiders

Horsted signed with the Raiders as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on June 7, 2022. He was moved from wide receiver to third-string tight end on the depth chart (originally intended for later-injured Jacob Hollister) after his performance at training camp. Darren Waller and Foster Moreau were first-string and second-string respectively. Horsted finished the 2022 season with 3 receptions for 19 yards, in 15 games played with zero starts, having participated in 48% of all special teams snaps (190).

2023

Horsted was re-signed on March 10, 2023. The following August, he remained at third-string tight end. Austin Hooper and rookie Michael Mayer took on first-string and second-string respectively, after Waller and Moreau were no longer with the team. On December 24, Horsted was ruled out with a

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

injury ahead of a game against division rival

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. 3 days later, he was placed on injured reserve. Horsted finished the 2023 season with one reception for four yards, in 13 games played with zero starts, and participated in 65% of all special teams snaps (216).

New Orleans Saints

On June 14, 2024, Horsted signed with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. He was released on August 3.

Carolina Panthers

On August 5, 2024, Horsted signed with the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. He was released on August 27.

References

External links

Princeton Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horsted, Jesper 1997 births Living people American football tight ends Las Vegas Raiders players People from Shoreview, Minnesota Sportspeople from Ramsey County, Minnesota Players of American football from Minnesota Princeton Tigers baseball players Princeton Tigers football players Roseville Area High School alumni Chicago Bears players New Orleans Saints players Carolina Panthers players