Tyrann Mathieu, he’s just like us — the New Orleans Saints safety ran into 36-year-old tight end Jimmy Graham at the team facility Tuesday, he told Nola.com’s Rod Walker, and wrongly assumed that Graham had returned to coach the Saints, not catch passes against him in practice. Many fans and observers expected Graham would be signing a one-day retirement contract, or maybe joining the coaching staff as Mathieu did.
Mathieu recounted: “It was funny man, I was in the equipment room and he kind of walked by, and we had some words. You know Ted Ginn was here in the spring, and so obviously I played against both of those guys, I played with Ted in the past. As we’re talking I’m looking at (Graham) and I think he’s about to coach, I ask him what he’s coaching. He says, ‘Nah, I’m playing.’ He kind of surprised me with that one. He looks good. I definitely feel he can help us still.”
Ginn, 38, was invited to join the Saints at training camp as an assistant wide receivers coach, so it wasn’t an unfounded assumption on Mathieu’s part. We’ll see if Graham still has enough left in the tank to help the Saints offense put points on the board and win some games in the fall. That all starts with productive practices during the summer.
Graham was out of football in 2022, but there’s a precedent for late-career tight ends continuing to make an impact. In 2018, the 38-year-old Ben Watson caught 35 passes for 400 yards and a couple of scores with the Saints. Derek Carr completed a pair of touchdown passes to a 38-year-old Jason Witten with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020. Graham is younger than both of them with less wear and tear on his body. Maybe he can make the most of his opportunities in scoring position with the Saints this year.
