Jimmy Graham Is A Pipe Dream
January 19th, 2014
Joe would be shocked if tight end Jimmy Graham was allowed to test the free agent market.
In about two weeks, NFL Christmas season begins, the time when Bucs fans begin poring over lists of free agents, hoping Santa Claus at One Buc Palace reads their list and the new Bucs general manager goes shopping with Team Glazer’s credit card, preferably with a monster credit limit.
Aside from a pass rush specialist quarterback, another big Bucs hole is at tight end. One Bucs fan lobbed a question at ESPN’s Pat Yasinskas to ask about a certain potential free agent tight end, one Jimmy Graham of New Orleans.
Jean Paul in Jersey City, N.J. asks about the possibility of the Buccaneers pursuing tight end Jimmy Graham in free agency.
PY: I’d be all for it. Graham’s a rare talent and would be a big boost for any offense he plays for. The Bucs have the salary-cap room to pull off a signing like that. But I don’t know that Graham ever will hit the market. The Saints are likely to do everything in their power to keep Graham and that includes the use of the franchise tag.
Joe would absolutely hit the floor if Sean Payton and the Saints let Graham loose on the free agent market. Aside from Drew Brees, the Saints may not have a better player on their roster. If indeed the Saints let Graham put his toe into the free agent waters, that is a major red flag to Joe that there may be something going on behind the scenes with the guy.
Teams don’t let players of Graham’s ability break loose.
January 19th, 2014 at 6:27 pm
Jimmy Graham is soft
January 19th, 2014 at 6:30 pm
so is greg hardy
(a pipe dream that is)
January 19th, 2014 at 6:30 pm
Why are you even talking about this. No way they don’t sign him. Pointless to bring up Joe
January 19th, 2014 at 6:32 pm
I didn’t even have to read the article, just the headline lol.
Yup, Graham said he’s not leaving Brees.
January 19th, 2014 at 6:33 pm
It’s a pipe dream, but a nice one!! :p
January 19th, 2014 at 6:38 pm
Not gonna happen. We have a poor-man’s version in Tim Wright. If he continues to develop, who knows how good he can be? Also, Crabtree will be back, and he’s got some ability.
FA targets need to be focused on areas of special need, specifically the pass rush and offensive line. A TE like Graham is still a luxury that this team can’t quite afford.
He’s also the product of the type of offense they run in NO. He’ll end up commanding a lot more money than he’d be worth in Tampa.
January 19th, 2014 at 6:50 pm
cool. so what type of offense are we running. I musta missed it.
January 19th, 2014 at 6:53 pm
Only way NO lets him go is cap issues, but if he hit the market the Bucs need to at least make an offer.
Crabtree should be cut or traded. He hasn’t been worth the invetment, not even when he actually played.
January 19th, 2014 at 6:55 pm
we ‘d need a qb that would be able to get him the ball
January 19th, 2014 at 6:56 pm
We need to make a very sizable offer….the least we can do is see to it that he gets a huge raise!!!
January 19th, 2014 at 7:03 pm
@Orca,
Tim Wright is like a homeless one armed man compared to Jimmy Graham… He won’t EVER be as good as him blocking or receiving.. Hes a product of their offense?! Are you stoned? That’s like saying Calvin Johnson is only good because of the offense he’s in.. Man dude I love the Bucs too but don’t be blind to an ENORMOUS upgrade…
Sadly we won’t even get the chance to offer him a contract
January 19th, 2014 at 7:05 pm
@joe
Looks like Manning is crumbling in the playoffs right?? Maybe you shouldn’t say anything else about him unless its positive for awhile..
January 19th, 2014 at 7:11 pm
Mickey Loomis can do more with no cap space than some GMs with 10mil. The guy is a magician. Brees knows that Graham is the meal ticket. He’s ready to step forward and bend over!
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24409159/saints-qb-drew-brees-willing-to-restructure-contract-to-help-team
January 19th, 2014 at 7:22 pm
Your article headline is right on the money. It would be a cold day in HELL if Graham were to actually hit the open market.
January 19th, 2014 at 7:31 pm
as I posted earlier this week…
the 2 side will have issues with the franchise tag. new orleans will want to tag him as a tightend. graham and his agent will want to get tagged as a receiver. the difference is like $6.5 million vs $11 million. as evidence, graham line up more in the receiver position than in the tightend position this past year. I wonder how this gets resolved…arbitration?
January 19th, 2014 at 7:52 pm
He’ll retire a Saint….draft a TE
January 19th, 2014 at 8:23 pm
I think that if Wright would put on some muscle and learn to block in the off season he could be a good one. IMO.
January 19th, 2014 at 8:55 pm
Joe,
I heard that Aaron Rodgers was in Tampa at RJS is there any truth behind this
January 19th, 2014 at 8:57 pm
@Phillip,
I’m not saying Graham wouldn’t be a huge upgrade. Here’s what I AM saying: (1) we have more pressing needs, (2) Wright is pretty good, and (3) Graham would probably not be nearly as prolific in most offenses and will command a much higher salary than he’d be worth in an offense outside of NO. He’s a great player, obviously. Sick stats. Will cost too much. We need DE and OL.
I don’t think we should mistake free agency for a fantasy football draft.
January 19th, 2014 at 11:58 pm
@Orca,
So you are telling me a 3rd receiving threat isn’t a PRIORITY? We have plenty of CAP ROOM and can easily make tons more… You are COMPLETELY wrong about him not being as prolific if you sign him for big money you MOLD an offense to get him touches.. He’s an ELITE player… If you have a chance to get an ELITE player you take it.. That’s like saying well we shouldn’t make an attempt to get Aaron Rodgers because Glennon is good(which he isn’t just saying for an example) and because he will cost us too much money… Stop acting like a frugal fake GM.. They are paid to structure contracts so we can go after top players and draft good players for other needs..
January 20th, 2014 at 12:28 am
his body type is 1 big contract away of being another broken buc free agent…nope been there, done that dont want another carl nicks…..
January 20th, 2014 at 1:07 am
It will be interesting to see how the agent for Graham goes about asking for money. From the agent, the Saints used Graham 67% of the time at WR, yet list him as a TE. I would think if a guy lines up at WR more then anywhere else, he’s a WR? The difference in franchise money is about $4 million more (TE, franchise tag is about $8 mil, a WR franchised is about $10 mil) With all the money tied up in Brees, W. Smith and both Guards, 5 guys tie up 41% of there salary cap and giving Graham a lot will make the Salary Cap even tighter. I hope they have to let him hit the market and they lose him to anyone outside of the div (except if Buc’s get him). I’d love to see us get DE Greg Hardy of Carolina. It would help our DL and hurt Carolina. Also, I’d also like to get C Alex Mack from Cleveland too. Go Buc’s
January 20th, 2014 at 1:34 am
Saints are way over the cap and will have to have a ‘cut’ fest here shortly. Graham wont be back because they cant afford him.
We need to bring in two good def linemen to rush the passer. Also need to being in one or two O-lineman.
January 20th, 2014 at 1:45 am
I’m not going to say this because i personally don’t like JG, however this is my opinion. I know we can kill two birds with one stone like we did a couple years back by taking Carl Nicks from the Saints but we have terrible luck when it comes to stealing rival players. JG is highly talented, crazy athletic, a wide improvement over what we have now and even when we had K2. But it’s also a two way street, Brees is throwing to him. Perhaps he can make MG8 or whoever our QB will be much better and our offense more potent, but JG is either staying with the Aints or leaving to a big market team. No luck for us. If we got him, i’d be damned.
January 20th, 2014 at 9:12 am
Pass on Jimmy Graham. Much like the rest of New Orleans’ WRs, he’s not much without an elite QB throwing him the ball. See how fast Robert Meacham came crawling back to the Saints for reference.
January 20th, 2014 at 12:00 pm
Thank you, Joe, for using the word ‘poring’ correctly! Javanese monkeys with typewriters could do a better job on English spelling and grammar than 70% of the pro sports writers and bloggers out there. I get sick when I read a ‘pro’ writing ‘…fans are pouring over the list of free agents…’. So, Mr. Pro Sports Writer, what are fans pouring over these lists? Coffee? Saliva? The viscous liquid you use for brains?
Another grammar-happy customer. –Joe