Just like everyone else, Drew Brees was surprised the New Orleans Saints traded their star tight end Jimmy Graham to the Seattle Seahawks. “I’m as shocked as everyone else. I love the guy,” Brees said. Not only did he say that, he tweeted an adorable but sad picture of his son crying and wearing a Graham jersey.
*photo in gallery above*
The Saints are trying to clear cap space but by trading Jimmy Graham and releasing Pierre Thomas and Curtis Lofton, they’ve left not only holes in the team, but also holes in the hearts of the fans.
And though Brees is sad about losing Graham, he could’ve prevented it but instead let it happen.
Everyone knew New Orleans was extremely cap-challenged entering this off-season and would have to make some tough and painful decisions to deal with the ugly math it faced. But the thought of letting a 28-year-old pass-catching weapon like Graham get away, after he totaled 51 touchdowns in his first five NFL seasons, is a decision I figured Brees would be willing to throw his body in the doorway to block.
I don’t know if Brees offered to do so or not, but his salary cap figures will be $26.4 million and $27.4 million in 2015-16, the final two years of his current five-year contract, and those seem rife for some club-friendly restructuring maneuvers.
Even Tom Brady has restructured his contract more than once in order to provide his team with cap relief and give them more options. Brees may be genuinely sad to see Graham go but self preservation was more important in this case.
