Next season, Jimmy Graham will be playing for his third team in four years. After the Green Bay Packers released him earlier in the month, the 33-year-old tight went out and signed with their divisional rivals, the Chicago Bears.
Graham signed a two-year deal with the Bears worth $16 million. However, it wasn't just the dollar signs that led Graham to sign with Chicago. The 6-foo-7, 265-pound tight end knows he has a role within their offense.
“That was kind of the biggest draw for me was a coach and a system that use a tight end the way I know how to be used,” Jimmy Graham said, via ChicagoBears.com. “All the conversations I had with coach, it just made sense to me. To be able to use matchups and to be able to use the tight end down the field, it’s just very attractive. That’s what I am, I’m that matchup problem.”
From 2011 to 2017, Graham was one of the best tight ends in football, making five Pro Bowls and being named All-Pro in 2013 after recording 1,215 yards and a league-high 16 touchdowns with the New Orleans Saints.
However, as he gets up there in age, it was clear that Graham is no longer the game-changing talent he once was. Last year for Green Bay, the veteran tight end recorded 38 catches for just 447 yards and three touchdowns while making 10 starts in 16 games.
On the other hand, the Bears offense has been in dire need of playmakers in the passing game for a while now. In 2019, Chicago ranked 25th in the league in both passing yards per game and total passing touchdowns.
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