Saints and Jimmy Graham contract talks haven’t picked up much
By Mike Dyce
The New Orleans Saints slapped the franchise tag on tight end Jimmy Graham preventing him from hitting free agency. There has been some debate about whether Graham could get wide receiver money under the franchise tag since he is used more often split out like a wide receiver and Graham can file a grievance on April 22nd, a deadline many saw for long-term contract negotiations.
Well that date quickly approaching and ESPN’s Mike Triplett writes that Saints general manager Mickey Loomis “seemed to indicate that the pace hasn’t picked up much since the Saints first placed the franchise tag on Graham more than a month ago.”
“You know, you guys [in the media] have been through this lots of times,” Loomis told Triplett. “I think all of us would rather have things done sooner rather than later, but it doesn’t always happen that way. So we’ll keep going, well keep at it in the process. Obviously we want to have Jimmy Graham on our team when training camp begins, and I am sure he wants to be with us.
“So we’ll just keep plugging away at the process. He’s got a great agent. And all his people, they know what they’re doing, and so do we. Hopefully we’ll come to a conclusion at some point.”
Training camp is a long ways away, and getting a deal done before Graham could file a grievance would be best for the Saints, but Graham might want to wait until then.