The Tennessee Titans today filled another of the items on their free agency checklist by adding tight end Daniel Graham, who spent 2010 with the Denver Broncos. Jim Wyatt reports it’s a three-year deal for roughly $8.5 million.
Graham was a first-round pick of the New England Patriots in 2002 and spent the first five years of his career there before spending the last four years with the Broncos. He has a reputation as one of the league’s better blocking tight ends, which is good because he isn’t much of a receiver. He had 18 catches last year for 148 yards with no touchdowns, and finished last by a sizable margin in Football Outsiders’ tight end statistical rankings.
If you’re thinking this sounds a lot like Alge Crumpler v. 2.0, you’re pretty much on the mark. Graham wasn’t as much of a receiver as Alge was early in his career, and I don’t think his knees are quite as creaky. Still, he’s primarily a very good blocker who should and likely will have a minimal role as a receiver. It’ll be interesting to see how much playiing time he gets and how much goes to Craig Stevens, who offers a similar skillset. Graham told Josina Anderson he wanted a place where he felt like he could compete for a starting job.
What do you think of this signing? Happy to get a veteran at tight end? Wish they’d pursued less of a pure blocker?
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
