NFL Rumors: Drew Brees says Jimmy Graham is tight end, not wide receiver
By Bryan Rose
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees decided to weigh in on a potential contract battle recently and may be regretting his words right about now.
Tight end Jimmy Graham, a free agent, is expected to be given a franchise tag by the Saints this offseason (assuming the two sides can’t agree on a long term contract). Graham doesn’t appear to mind if he’s given the tag, as long as he’s paid as a wide receiver.
The tag difference between wide receiver and tight end was about $5 million dollars last offseason and that’s money Graham wants understandably. Of course, that’s money the team wants to spend elsewhere as they want to tag him as a tight end.
Graham was technically drafted as a ‘tight end’ but doesn’t line up in the traditional tight end slot much and runs wide receiver routes quite often, but Brees held no punches when pressed on the subject.
"“He’s a tight end,” Brees told Erik Kuselias of NBC Sports Radio. “He’s a tight end. We’re able to do a lot of creative things with him, just like we’re able to do with a lot of our offensive personnel. I feel like with Sean Payton, with our offensive system and we gear towards putting those guys in the best position to succeed according to their strengths. Jimmy Graham is six-seven, 270, he runs like a deer, he can jump and catch, he’s so strong and physical, he plays with great fire and passion, he can play the line, he can split out.”"
Brees just gave an honest answer and probably wasn’t thinking his response seemingly threw his teammate under the bus. Pretty sure he’d like to take a mulligan on this one.