Thoughts on the Jimmy Graham signing

I know it’s late but here are my thoughts on the Jimmy Graham signing. I’m not going to go back on what I said due to the excitement because he’s back. Yes, I know I’m on record as saying the Saints should trade him and I stand by that. I think the return on a guy like Jimmy Graham could be greater than keeping him on the roster. That’s a whole different argument though.

My thoughts are that it’s good that the Saints have him back because he’s a huge mismatch for any linebacker, safety and smaller corner. It helps the team win now and it helps Drew Brees retain his favorite and most reliable target. It does the same thing for the future, but sans Drew Brees. When Brees retires, Graham will likely still be a Saint so he will be able to help the new young gun get used to the NFL game by giving him a huge target to throw to.

With this signing, though, comes difficulties down the road. I feel like if the Saints are going to want to do anything (if they even can) next year in free agency, they are going to have to restructure a lot of contracts. Think about who they have to pretty sizable deals: Brees, Graham, Colston, Evans, Byrd, Lofton signed a pretty good contract, Keenan Lewis signed a sizable deal. That’s not even to mention Cam Jordan and Galette who are going to (and deserved to) want to be paid in the next couple of years. There could be a lot of cap casualties in the coming years that possibly could have been avoided if the Saints traded (I guess they still could, but they would have to swallow some dead money) Graham.

I get a lot of mixed reviews about what I say about Graham and trading him due to the fact that he’s (as of right now) New Orleans’ biggest weapon and that it would be ludicrous to trade him away. I counter those arguments by asking them who Marques Colston was before Brees, who Graham was, who Pierre Thomas was (Brees doesn’t have that big of an effect on PT, but still), and even who Sproles was because his career kind of exploded when he came to the Saints. A lot of people agree with what I say, and a lot of them do not. It’s the nature of the business and I’m just trying to get my point across. It’s a good thing for a “Win-Now” type of team, but if we’re talking about building for the future, I’m not so sure that I would have been in a rush to sign him to a long-term deal.

I’d like to know your thoughts on what I said here and what your thoughts are on the signing itself.