Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

It was not Graham's agent driving the truck. It was the NFLPA and their bank of lawyers. In this case Graham was exactly what you claim he wasn't ... a pawn. Yes, his agent had a vested interest, yet neither he, nor Graham, was the driving force. During the whole ordeal Graham was completely out of the picture. He never made any statement, nor even an utterance. The whole confrontation was between the players' association and the league's front office. The PA had been waiting for an opportunity to make the challenge and Graham's case happened to be their first, and best, opportunity.

Graham was just a 28 year old kid and the NFLPA was perhaps the most powerful union in the world. He had little say in the matter. It is easy for a fan to say he should have stood up to his union, but that's easier said than done.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

If Cam and Brees are lobbying for a Jimmy Dickens return, include me in on that bandwagon train. Imagine having Kamara, Ingram & Graham in the redzone. Then factor in another slot WR (either draft or FA) to the mix. That's a tough out on any defense to stop on a consistent basis.

The Saints have put together a very nice, young cohesive defense that is getting better. If the price is right, make the move to bring back Jimmy & lets win the whole thing.

The "bad blood" thing has been so over hyped.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

I am far from infallible. Maybe I do need to dig deeper - and I will. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

It's not over-hyped when Graham trolls the team on social media long after the fact.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Agree with this
All the players know its a business decision

I never blamed Jimmy for being pissed
He could have not signed a deal and moved to a team of his choosing but the team told him they wanted him and traded him 12 months later. I would be pissed if id planned to spend X number of years in a city and started planting routes then got traded 2500 miles away to live in the rain

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

This happens everyday to people in every industry getting re-located. It''s actually much worse for them because they are likely not multi-millionaires so his rants on social media at the time were petty. Think he said something along the lines of "eff" that team or something referring to the Saints.

It was many moons ago so meh...the bad blood has likely run its course but fans at the time remember him blowing up over something that is fairly common. He sounded like a pansy.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Graham NEVER said anything of the sort. Use your Google tool and you'll find out that what you stated is completely false.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

And exactly what is this supposed "trolling" that you claim to have read? The ONLY thing he ever posted related to the Saints was when he congratulated Akiem Hicks about his trade to the Patriots:

Hicks was floundering, as was most of the defense, with the fiasco introduced by Rob Ryan. Ryan was fired a little over a month later.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Well I wasn't there so I can never know, but I know that I simply do not believe that Jimmy was simply an unwilling pawn in his own contract negotiation. The fact that Jimmy never made any statement was because his agent told him to sit down and shut up and that is what he did. He didn't have to. He could have stopped that madness at any time - he was holding out for as much money as he could get. To that end I don't necessarily blame the man, but the tactics that were used were unsightly and cost him his position on our team. He was not beholden to any other person or group of people other than by choice.

If anything else were true somebody would have gone to jail.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Yes. Do some digging. I really kept up with that whole affair. As most around here know I really get into the financial and contractual aspects of the league and the NFLPA's handling of the Graham tag was a major tipping point in future contract negotiations league wide. I'll guarantee you that there wasn't a single article concerning the case that I did not read. During the entire proceedings not a word was heard from Graham personally and even his agent was unusually quiet.

Graham caught the backlash from fans that only got the slanted story from click bait blogging hacks that throw stuff against the wall hoping that something might actually stick.