Jimmy Graham talks about how he wishes he never left the saints (1 Viewer)

[Zztop]

I didn't like how the whole situation went down. If they were going to trade him away, I think they should have not have signed him to that big contract and then trade him because:

even after the trade the saints were hit by cap repercussions b/c of that contract
even after they traded him, they were basically taking a cap hit for his contract + Fleener's contract
Fleener was not as good as JG
the saints never found a successor anywhere close to the talent of JG

People like to point out his last year with the saints as lackluster, but recollection was he was playing through a torn pec muscle or bad shoulder or something.

JG went on to play for Seattle and then blow out his knee and was never the same again

Saints used the draft pick to select Stephone Anthony (and we all know how well that turned out)

Was this ultimately just about the Saints getting a good center? At the time, Unger was kind of a question mark, with all those prior injuries he sustained

 

[saint_drago]

Graham had a chance in 2018 to bring the band back together for the Saints version of "the last dance". While Graham had no control over being traded in 2015, but he had full control as an unrestricted free agent in 2018. It was clear from how Payton, Brees, Ingram, and Jordan all publicly campaigned for him to come back that he was NOT a locker room cancer and was loved. Any issues Payton had with him, he clearly was more than happy to let the past be the past. But Graham chose the money, and now he is wishing he had chosen the rings. Graham on the 2018 Saints would have been the 2011 Saints offense with the 2018 Saints defense. Unstoppable.

Yeah Jimmy, MT, and AK on the field would've been something to see. Jimmy was no longer in his prime but SP would've gotten the most out of him. I wonder what our offer was and how it compared to Green Bay's?

Now that Jimmy is older and wiser he sees that he had it made with a first ballot HoF QB and the best offensive mind in football. And it's not like the Saints were that rough on him. He saw all the targets he could ever want and they had to fight tooth and nail to make him the highest paid TE in the league. At the time he was one of the highest paid pass catchers in the league period.

 

[Chopper Man]

He got what he deserved. The nerve wanting WR money.

 

[BooBirdSaint]

After JG the Saints sure whiffed on trying to replace even a bit of the offense we lost when he was delt. Hoomanawanui, Watson(twice), Hill, A one legged Fleener, & sir drops A lot Cook.

 

[AmerVet]

This city did so much for Graham, even taught him to fly. He honestly did deserve a big payday, but the Saints were more responsible for making him feel like a WR. To be more honest, I was glad when we let him go because Brees started getting one dimensional. He wasn't spreading the ball around like his usual self. Jimmy was starting to look like our only offensive option. Buthad he stayed with Brees, they might have exceeded 150 tds by now.

 

[2009ring]

Graham had a chance in 2018 to bring the band back together for the Saints version of "the last dance". While Graham had no control over being traded in 2015, but he had full control as an unrestricted free agent in 2018. It was clear from how Payton, Brees, Ingram, and Jordan all publicly campaigned for him to come back that he was NOT a locker room cancer and was loved. Any issues Payton had with him, he clearly was more than happy to let the past be the past. But Graham chose the money, and now he is wishing he had chosen the rings. Graham on the 2018 Saints would have been the 2011 Saints offense with the 2018 Saints defense. Unstoppable.

If we had him in 18 as a red zone threat imagine how that Rams NFCCG might be different. No throwing to TLL. No missing PI call. No slap to Drew's face in OT causing an INT.

We beat the Patriots handily if we had gone to that Super Bowl.

 

[Mojomajik9]

Really in retrospect the Jimmy and Kenny Stills trades didn’t net us much back. We wanted to rebuild the defense but it didn’t work out. Anthony busted hard. Unger was a quality center though but it is hard not to imagine what could have been with JG, Kenny, CGM and Kamara on the field.

 

[Kegger]

I made some dumb choices in my 20s too

 

[longtime lurker]

I still think about what if we had held on to Sam, Bobby, and Morten. You never really get over the what if’s with the special players and what could have been, but that’s life.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Back when Gronk and Graham were considered 1 and 1A (or vice versa depending on who you talked to)

Looking back on it should we have just paid him as a WR? He wasn't just putting up WR numbers he was putting up superstar WR numbers

I wonder that whole situation changed how we deal with our players contracts. We lose a Trex on occasion but the vast majority of the time we take care of our own,

I never would have thought that we could have kept Ram, Kamara, Thomas and Lattimore

 

[t-rex23]

JG would have made the catch Arnold couldn't

 

[Paul]

I miss the early 2010’s offenses that we fielded - especially 2011. It felt like they just steamrolled defenses, even in losses.

 

[jasonsw]

Yeah but Ungrer retired way too soon, causing us to use high draft picks on interior O Lineman when we could have used them on something else.

And let's not talk about Stephone Anthony who we got with that 1st round pick. Ugh. Graham's right, that trade didn't work out really for either side.

McCoy is an excellent replacement. Unger played 4 seasons here and was very good..

 

[B4YOU]

Gronk may look like a dumb meathead, but he is the opposite actually. When your QB literally takes your game to crazy heights and never clashes with you, then you do everything in your power to stick with them. He got some bad advice along the way.

Gronk is playing a role as a meathead. His statement about not watching tape is underselling his hard work.

He scored a 32 on the Wonderlic. No one develops his level of physical skills and maintains them at his age without hard work.

 

[Grant Backer Two]

A TE, NOT to be paid as a WR. That is all.
P.S. DB9 made you a star!