The New Orleans Saints needed to clear salary cap space, and it turns out their most electrifying pass catcher is on his way elsewhere as a result.
#Saints have a deal. They’re working out the logistics of sending TE Jimmy Graham & 4th to #Seahawks for Unger & 1st (@JayGlazer noted 1st)
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 10, 2015
Tight end Jimmy Graham has officially become a cap casualty with the Saints trading him and a 2015 fourth round pick to the Seahawks for center Max Unger and a 2015 first round pick. The news was reportedly broken initially by Fox Sports Jay Glazer. Graham was due a $5 million roster bonus in a few days if he was still with New Orleans, and their precarious cap situation more than anything precipitated this move.
Graham has emerged as one of the league’s most versatile tight ends. Over the past two seasons, he’s amassed 2,104 receiving yards and caught 26 total touchdowns, by far the best in the league at his position over that time period. When Graham signed a four-year extension before the start of 2014, one of his initial demands was that he get paid as a wide receiver instead of a tight end.
Unger missed a good portion of 2014 due to an ankle injury but has been a very capable center over the course of his career. Pro Football Focus rated him as the second-best center in the league in 2012. He will be entering his seventh NFL season come 2015.
This is a move that at first glance clearly favors the Seahawks. New Orleans gets a first round pick as compensation but it’s about as late in the round as you can get given Seattle’s finish as the Super Bowl runner-up. Russell Wilson finally has a bona fide go-to target after going most of 2014 with plenty of lesser known names especially when Percy Harvin left for the New York Jets.
Let the wheeling and dealing begin.
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