If you clicked on this article, it's probably because, like me, you thought Jimmy Graham retired five years ago. Given his journey, it's no surprise to think this.
He did not play at all in 2022, and prior to that, he was with the Chicago Bears, who have been searching for a quarterback for the last 30 years. With nobody to throw him the ball and with father time nipping at his heels (Graham is 36 years old), it comes as no surprise that we have not heard his name a whole lot over the last couple of seasons.
It may be too late to resurrect his career, but Graham has decided to go out on his own terms. He's returned to a place responsible for 54 percent of his career receptions, 56 percent of his career yards, and 60 percent of his career touchdowns. He's decided to march out of his Hall of Fame career, as a member of the New Orleans Saints.
The New Orleans Saints expect big things from Jimmy Graham
After a strong preseason, the team made it official, announcing that Graham had made the 53-man roster. This is not a one-day contract like Jerry Rice signed with the 49ers. It's not a publicity stunt, staged at a press conference so it can be a three-minute feel-good segment on Sportscenter. The Saints expect Graham to produce, and he expects to produce for them.
He's still an enormous red zone target at 6-foot-7, and the less-than-inspiring play of the other tight ends on the roster, suggests there are plenty of targets in the game plan for him. Juwan Johnson finished 2022 with 42 catches and seven touchdowns, while Foster Moreau pulled in 33 catches and two touchdowns. Taysom Hill is listed as a tight end, but with only nine catches last year, the team chooses to utilize him more as a wildcat quarterback.
Graham may not have a 40-inch vertical anymore, and Derek Carr certainly isn't Drew Brees, but that doesn't mean that a storybook ending doesn't await the five-time pro bowler. Don't expect him to limp off into the sunset as a player who stayed around too long. Jimmy Graham is going to Gallup into the sunset, with a touchdown ball in hand, as one of the more effective red zone targets of 2023.
