Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

FWIW :bng: ...

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Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham - NFL.com

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Love what ya did for us Jimmy but....
I’d rather have Trey Burton or pick from a bevy of draft talent.
Besides they way you left and what you said after leaving was all I needed to hear.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Well I didn’t really expect that. I thought it was just the media making stuff up.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Personally I really don't care how some are bent out of shape by media twisted dissing of the Saints by Graham. All I know is that he remained a friend of Brees and is still a respected player. If you as fans are bent out of shape it doesn't matter at all. Get over it. Get real.

:bng:

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Were his worss twisted? Was the holdout for record money twisted? Was the precipitous drop in production without Brees twisted?

If not, the only thing I’d be bent out of shape over is missing out on a more talented TE by signing Graham instead.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Everyone relax. He was ticked off because he was traded out of the blue. We all would be mad too. Now, I still don’t want him back at a hefty price tag.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

I'm warming up. I really did not like how he left.

It's a business tho, and winning championships is the name of the game. To that end a whole lot can be forgiven.

I'd welcome him back with open arms I guess, but we're paying him like a TE and he needs to get over it...

I'll promise this: Tampa, Atlanta, and Carolina are sure hoping Jimmy isn't back in black and gold.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Seattle does not want him.... why would we?

Seahawks.NET - The Voice of the 12th Man! • View topic - Jimmy Graham RUMORS

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

He is going to cost 7 million ? Great redzone target. I would pursue Trey Burton for the same money. He is an all around talent and younger less wear and tear.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Not sure what a "worss" is. :confused: And he never held out for record money. Get your facts straight. The NFLPA used his declaration as a TE as opposed to a WR to present a test case to the league. It had nothing what so ever to do with any record breaking attempt at anything.

And, no, the precipitous drop had everything to do with being misused by Seattle.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Because they do not have the QB nor offense to utilize him to his max.

Duh!

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Who the hell knows what he would cost? Most likely a minimal amount as affects the 2018 cap. Signing bonus and low base salary.

All I can say is that the 10 TD's he scored in the redzone last year was better than any of our receivers, especially TE's.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Don’t post much and have not posted in a long while, but I need to point out some facts for those who prefer Trey Burton over bringing back Jimmy.

Jimmy is 6’6”, Trey is 6’ 2”

Jimmy has a 38” vertical jump, Trey has a 30” vertical

Jimmy runs a 4.56 40, Trey runs a 4.62 40

Jimmy had 10 tds last year, Trey has 7 tds I’ve the last 3 years

Jimmy knows the offense and has played with Brees, Trey hasn’t

I don’t even think it’s a question who is the more valuable weapon. Burton is Josh Hill 2.0, I do not want the Saints to get into a bidding war with half the league over a backup tight end who may or may not work out. Go with the proven commodity, Drew doesn’t have time to wait for an unproven talent.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Bam!!! As Emeril would say!!! Well said Saint Kane :bng::ubl:

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Graham wanted more money than the TE franchise tag. Fact. And being tagged as a WR meant about $5M more at the time. Fact. So no, the NFLPA didn’t dream up the scenarios. JG held out or fought for more money than the Saints wanted to pay him. In the end he became the highest paid right end in history. Fact!

Worth it? I thought so. JG was historic at his position. But he faded at the end the very next season.

And no, Seattle couldn’t get the most out of Graham and it cost Darrell Bevell his job.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

If the price is right I would take him back in a heartbeat. If there is a huge bidding war I would just draft one.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

His Red Zone production is still elite. For that alone JG won’t come cheap. That aspect, which I’ve posted before, is worth bringing him back.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Sorry, but YOU have this wrong. The NFLPA used the Graham case to try to set a precedent. Graham NEVER personally demanded WR money. Go check it out. THIS is a FACT. Graham did, however, agree, with the consent of his agent, to allow the NFLPA to use his case as a test case. By the way, the NFLPA did the exact same thing when they used Brees' situation concerning a second franchise tag by a different team.

In both cases the NFLPA had the long-term good of their constituents in mind and it was about nothing but business. I cannot understand why some fans take these type of issues so personally. It makes no sense. The teams and the players know better.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Right money i'd have him back in a heartbeat
His ability on 3rd down and red zone would take this offense back to 2011 levels with either Snead getting back to form or another 3rd down type WR.

Lots of good WR out there this year if Graham gets too expensive

Decker,Gabriel,Matthews,Amendola all could be cheap

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

I've tried to factor this into my own opinion, and as I said earlier we must all recognize this is a business, but Jimmy's arm wasn't twisted. He is the captain of his own ship. He could have shut all that down the minute he wanted to by telling his agent to shut up and sit down. I'm not buying it, particularly after his parting shots against the organization, as if he had no role in his departure. Had he (via his agent) been reasonable he'd have been a Saints for life.

I'm over it, but Jimmy wasn't "merely pawn, in game of life". Agents are like lawyers. They must be managed, otherwise they'll run up your bill and screw up your life.

http://www.kchodorow.com/blog/wp-con...0/08/mongo.png



:bng:

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.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

JG's production as a Seahawk beat out all the TEs we have on board. He can still play at a high level. If he gets signed we know the hard feelings weren't really that hard. I still expect another team to pay above what we would offer if we even do.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

I don't think you understand the power that the NFLPA holds over its membership. Any tactics that were used were solely to the discretion of the PA's lawyers. Graham was indeed a pawn just as any other union member in the same predicament. None of it was illegal, but any player in his position would have felt highly obliged to consent to the PA's "wishes".

And that whole contract affair did not affect his position upon the team. The only reason why Graham was traded was that it was a stipulation by Seattle that was required for the Saints to get Max Unger and a 1st round pick. The Saints had originally offered up Kenny Stills instead, but the Seahawks demanded Graham as part of the package or no deal would be made. That's why it was such a surprise to both Graham and Brees when the deal was announced.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Only there is precedent of compromise ahead of Jimmy's drama. Terell Suggs tried to get paid as a DE and was also shot down. In 2008.

Jimmy wasn't breaking new ground. Neither was the NFLPA.

Jimmy and his agent and possibly the NFLPA wanted to get as much as they could. I don't argue that. The NFLPA wants to push salaries as do agents...as do players.

I'm sorry we agree to disagree. Jimmy was complicit.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

I really wouldn't mind seeing him back. As long as we don't over pay. And as long as Brees remembers we have other players that can catch the ball...one of which is a stud named Michael Thomas. So forcing it to JG every other play is stupid.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

He kinda did:

The Seahawks tight end sent new Patriots defensive lineman Akiem Hicks a message on Twitter congratulating him on his trade out of New Orleans.
“feel blessed u got out of there,” Graham wrote to Hicks.

Graham quickly deleted the message, but it was

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

What you just said is my opinion of every argument anyone tries to make on behalf of any player, in any sport.

I get sick of fans trying to twist everything into being the agent or union's fault. We all get that it is a business, but if you want to stay somewhere, be reasonable. If it's about the money then just admit it. That's why people get upset at players like Jimmy Graham. They want the money, but they also expect that what they want should take precedence over the team's overall needs, and they whine about being disrespected.

We should all be so fortunate as to be "disrespected" with an offer of several million dollars a year.

I will say, however, that while I don't believe in giving players a pass and blaming everything on the union or agent, I do believe that labor unions are bad ideas. I'm fine with individuals filing grievances if they have legitimate evidence that their production (in whatever field of work) is not being compensated equally with other workers or players with similar production.

But unions and their members FORCE employers to pay more to employees who don't really deserve high wages or salaries. The inflation that results from these kinds of demands causes players like Andy Dalton to get an over 100 million dollar contract and, in turn, prices a lot of tickets out of range for consumers.

In the MLB, the players union has been crying about "collusion" between owners because the free agent market has been slow this year. Maybe they ARE colluding. Or, maybe most teams just can't afford what players and agents are demanding. And, by the way... what exactly does a union do, if not COLLUDE?

So, yes, the union effects things greatly, but unions are made up of the very players it represents. Players can think for themselves, but they want that dough.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

Trust me I want Graham back but all these reports and rumors are starting to make me think it's not going to happen, Payton gives the media ZERO info so where they getting all this "speculation" from?

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

No. While somewhat similar the Suggs case was not the same. Suggs was not franchised. His grievance was over his negotiated salary and an arbiter agreed that he was basically a DE and should be paid as one.

The Graham case was based upon franchise position designation. It was a different animal entirely. The NFLPA was arguing that he was basically a WR and should have been designated as one with the franchise tag. It was all about tag designation, not negotiated salary based. This truly was new ground.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

I pointed that very tweet out earlier in my response. And I agree with Graham that Hicks should have felt blessed getting away from that mess created by Rob Ryan. Yet, if that's the worst that Graham did (and it is) then it is pretty trivial.

Re: Saints interested in reunion with Jimmy Graham
 

From Cam Jordan tweets and general speculation. The definition of "speculation" is the forming of a theory or conjecture without firm evidence.