The New Orleans Saints are preparing to head into the 2024 season with the chance that Jimmy Graham won’t be on the roster.
Graham was selected by the Saints in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft, with the 95th overall selection. For the first five seasons of his NFL career, the former college hoops star became one of the most unstoppable tight ends in the league. In his second season in 2011, he had 1,1310 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. Two seasons later, he surpassed those stats with 1,1213 yards and a career-high 16 touchdowns.
In the 2014 season, Graham recorded 85 receptions for 889 receiving yards and ten receiving touchdowns He was named to the Pro Bowl for the 2014 season and was ranked 31st by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015.
But in March of 2015, the New Orleans Saints traded the dynamic tight end to the Seattle Seahawks for center Max Unger and a first-round pick.
From 2015-2021 Graham had stints with the Seahawks, Bears and Packers before returning to the Saints last season. He sat out all of the 2022 campaign.
While the veteran only recorded 6 catches for 39 yards and four touchdowns in 2023, he still believes he can compete in the NFL at a high level but has been mulling over the decision to retire.
New Orleans Saints Star Jimmy Graham Answers Questions About Potential Retirement
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ESPN recently asked Graham about his potential retirement from the NFL and the veteran tight end left the door open to play another season.
“I’m gonna reach out to the Saints and figure out what’s best, and then make the decision on when it’s best for me to retire,” Graham said, via ESPN’s Katherine Terrell.
In the meanwhile, Graham is continuing to prepare for a 1,000-kilometer row across open ocean near Norway north of the Arctic Circle. Graham is part of a four-person team, which includes a married couple from New Orleans, that is training for the July 2025 event known as “The Arctic Challenge.”
Graham’s football exploits are well-known, but he’s also an extreme-sports enthusiast who’s an avid cyclist and has spoken previously about wanting to sail around the world. Graham also is a licensed pilot.
If Graham does decide to return to football, he said it would only be with the New Orleans Saints — the team he started his career with and the one he intends to finish with.
“I don’t have any expectations,” Graham said. “I just want to make sure when I retire, it’s as a Saint, and it’s when they want me to. I’ll just make sure I give them a call and see exactly when they want me to retire, and then I’ll end up doing it.”
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Originally a third-round pick of New Orleans in 2010, the Saints brought back Graham on a one-year deal prior to last season. He made the roster following a strong performance in the team’s preseason finale and ended up playing 13 regular-season games (two starts) last year. Although Graham caught only six passes for 39 yards in 2023, four of his catches went for touchdowns.
Graham had been out of football in the 2022 season, spending the two prior seasons with the Chicago Bears. In a 13-year NFL career with the Saints, Seahawks, Packers and Bears, Graham has caught 719 passes for 8,545 yards (11.9-yard average) and 89 touchdowns.
The New Orleans Saints signed free-agent tight end Foster Moreau this offseason, joining holdovers Juwan Johnson, Taysom Hill and others at the position.