New Orleans Saints not happy with Jimmy Graham conclusion
By Josh Hill
The New Orleans Saints saved $5 million thanks to a four-yard ruling against tight end Jimmy Graham which officially labeled him as such this past week. The argument was over the franchise tag that the Saints slapped on Graham that claimed he was a tight end and not a wide receiver like Graham was arguing.
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But after the ruling acme down, the Saints are now unhappy with the conclusion that was decided upon. It’s not that they don’t like the ruling that Graham is a tight end, they love that part, it’s the way the conclusion was reached. It was four yards that separated Graham from being a tight end or a wide receiver but the Saints think anyone who plays at tight end is a tight end no matter how many yards they rack up.
According to Mike Florio from ProFootballTalk.com,
"Per a source with knowledge of the team’s position, the Saints disagree with the notion that the question of tight end vs. receiver boils down to whether the player lines up most of the time within four yards of an offensive tackle. As the Saints see it, a tight end is a tight end no matter where he lines up or how often he lines up there."
So while it may sound like the Saints were upset and thought it was unfair that four yards separated Graham from his big payday, in reality it’s because they see the loop hole and want to tie it off as quickly and as brutally as possible.