Saints’ Sean Payton: Keeping Jimmy Graham will require ‘tough decisions’
By Mike Dyce
New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham is arguably the best player at his position in the NFL. But as he heads towards free agency, the Saints will have some tough decisions as they try to hold on to him.
The first is the franchise tag debate, does he get tendered as a receiver or as a tight end? There is a roughly $5 million gap between the two price points. The second is the salary cap game, in order to keep Graham some players might need to be let go.
“With that being said, the first thing that comes to my mind with free agency is your own roster,” head coach Sean Payton said, via the Times-Picayune. “I think often times that gets overlooked. The most challenging part of your job as a coach, and I share that with [G.M. Mickey Loomis] or anyone that has been with an organization as long as we have been, going on year nine, is some of the tough decisions that have to be made with regards to your cap with the ability that you possibly can sign Jimmy Graham.”