SaintsBro

The pile of money is so huge, and there's such a difference between the WR and TE paydays, I would not be surprised at all if Graham will actually force the Saints to use the tag on him, get tagged, and then appeal whether he is to be paid a WR or a TE, to get more money.

The impatient rubber necks will all be like "Why hasn't Loomis signed Jimmy yet? What's wrong? Why don't we sign him right now? Hurry up!!!! They're going to let him get away!!!!" but I will bet you ten to one, that behind the scenes it will likely be Graham's agent who causes the delay, and not Loomis or the Saints. Why would you take a payday NOW, when you have the potential for an even higher payday if you wait, and find out how the arbitration rules whether Jimmy is a TE or a WR. It could make a huge difference in his pile of money.

It's the same thing as with Drew's appeal of HIS tag -- he was NEVER going to sign anything until that dispute had been worked out, over whether his previous tag for a different team in San Diego counted or not. Then, they decided it, and his deal was suddenly done a short couple of days later.

The two parties are close, but the tag is like insurance, guaranteeing that Jimmy WILL get some kind of top 5 money. Then the deal is finished and the details are negotiated.

There is nothing wrong with Jimmy Graham (other than nursing his injuries) and there is nothing wrong with the fact that he hasn't signed yet. Just because YOU want a Jimmy Graham deal right now, doesn't mean that HE wants it to get done right now. Just food for thought.