Goal posts beware, Jimmy Graham will be back in the Caesars Superdome this week.
The New Orleans Saints’ great is returning for the team’s Week 12 game against the rival Atlanta Falcons to serve as the Legend of the Game. He’ll be in the building at the same time as his long-time quarterback, as future Hall of Famer Drew Brees will also be present as the color commentator for the FOX broadcast.
Graham only spent six of his 13 NFL seasons with the Saints — split over two stints, from 2010-14 and again in 2023 — but he established himself as one of the best skill position players in franchise history.
New Orleans drafted Graham in the third round of the 2010 draft, seeing potential in a former college basketball player who had only one season of high-level college football on his resume.
He quickly established himself as one of the NFL’s most dangerous tight ends. In his second season, Graham caught 99 passes for 1,310 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Saints’ record-smashing 2011 offense. That was the start of something big, as Graham averaged 89 receptions for 1,099 yards and 11 touchdowns from 2011-14.
New Orleans traded Graham to the Seattle Seahawks after the 2014 season following a contract dispute. But Graham came out of retirement to play one more season for New Orleans in 2023, when he turned four of his six catches into touchdowns.
Though Graham only spent six seasons in New Orleans, he ranks among the franchise’s leaders in every major receiving category, and he owns every major receiving record by a tight end in franchise history.
New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham (80) celebrates a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers during the second half of an NFL football game at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)
STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER