$9m saving if we cut Jimmy Graham

[Xarbx425]

no to cutting

 

[Popeyejones]

must be nice to just throw away a 1st round pick after one year

First round pick and a good offensive lineman, ostensibly to have money to get an offensive lineman.

I don't really think cutting Graham makes much sense, nor do I think trading him makes much sense.

This is particularly true if the team continues moving more to a spread formation, in which Graham is more useful.

I don't agree with you often but this is one of those rare times. Good points.

Well, thanks. :lol:

TBH, the more I watched the Hawks' offensive transformation in the second half of the season, the more it seemed like they were still using the same philosophies in the run game but were transitioning into more a Gulf Coast passing attack, which works really well for the Saints, but has mostly been a failure for the Lions.

Only really interesting in that Graham, if history is to be believed, is probably most effective in a Gulf Coast attack, and they didn't really start using it with any consistency until after he went down.

Will be interesting to see if that continues next year, as I think the Seahawks have the bodies for it, and Rawls could work well in it too.

 

[HawkFan72]

I would be surprised if they move on from Graham. We struggled on third downs all year and I think Graham could really help with that. He finally started to click with Wilson before going down and this offense with Wilson, Baldwin, Lockett, Graham, Rawls etc could be the best offense in the league next year.

Over the last few games the Seahawks didn't struggle on 3rd down at all, though. They were one of the most efficient 3rd down teams in the NFL during their hot streak.

With that said, I still hope they keep Graham next year. He definitely did have to be accounted for by Defenses and he has great hands. We saw how thin our TE depth is when he went out (had to sign McCoy and Coffman off the scrap heap).

If Graham can come back from his injury (which is a big factor), I would love to see what he looks like in this new Offense that we had the 2nd half of the season.

 

[Seanhawk]

Great thread. Many valid points. I'm not sure he played at the same level since his shoulder injury at New Orleans (2013?) where he missed part of the season . Who knows with his knee. What if he can't be really productive until 2016 season?

I'd be fine with that, mainly because the 2016 season is the upcoming season.

 

[acbass]

Jimmy ain't going anywhere. He will dominate in this new type of offense. It really sucks that he got hurt when he did. I think we had just started to implement parts of the spread. You can't trade for him, struggle to use him, switch to and successfully run a system he could thrive in, and get rid of him before seeing what we he can do in it. In my opinion, he is one of the safest players going into next year.

 

[Anthony!]

Jimmy ain't going anywhere. He will dominate in this new type of offense. It really sucks that he got hurt when he did. I think we had just started to implement parts of the spread. You can't trade for him, struggle to use him, switch to and successfully run a system he could thrive in, and get rid of him before seeing what we he can do in it. In my opinion, he is one of the safest players going into next year.

agreed if they play this spread offense form start to finish, unlike yesterday

 

[Ozzy]

I would be surprised if they move on from Graham. We struggled on third downs all year and I think Graham could really help with that. He finally started to click with Wilson before going down and this offense with Wilson, Baldwin, Lockett, Graham, Rawls etc could be the best offense in the league next year.

Over the last few games the Seahawks didn't struggle on 3rd down at all, though. They were one of the most efficient 3rd down teams in the NFL during their hot streak.

With that said, I still hope they keep Graham next year. He definitely did have to be accounted for by Defenses and he has great hands. We saw how thin our TE depth is when he went out (had to sign McCoy and Coffman off the scrap heap).

If Graham can come back from his injury (which is a big factor), I would love to see what he looks like in this new Offense that we had the 2nd half of the season.

Actually you're right, they were unreal on third down during the offensive explosion. Just looked at those numbers and they are pretty impressive. I think Graham would flourish in the new offense too.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

Graham's last three receptions before getting injured were two 3rd-and-10+ jailbreak catches and the juggling deep bomb on the 1-yard line. He's going nowhere unless he's unlikely to regain his former strength. And that could happen; Victor Cruz has never been the same. But there's a lot of potential there to argue against.

 

[johnnyfever]

Jimmy ain't going anywhere. He will dominate in this new type of offense. It really sucks that he got hurt when he did. I think we had just started to implement parts of the spread. You can't trade for him, struggle to use him, switch to and successfully run a system he could thrive in, and get rid of him before seeing what we he can do in it. In my opinion, he is one of the safest players going into next year.

Only question will be how he heals from this injury. Way worse than an acl or the like. Can end careers. I hope to god he does heal up right.

 

[Mojambo]

Keep him (assuming recovery) and go to the spread offense.

It's going to really annoy me if they continue to deny what is so CLEARLY the new offensive identity of this team. Graham, Lockett, Baldwin, Rawls, Wilson... These guys are all MADE to play in the spread. Plus, it'll be a LOT easier to build a competent offensive line on a budget if they go spread.

Be who you ARE and PROFIT, Seahawks.

 

[AROS]

For the love of God, keep Graham.

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

I don't think they'll be able to cut him because of his injury. He won't be ready before the season starts and I doubt he would take an injury settlement. The Seahawks will get what they can from him in the second half of next season and see where it can go from there.

Agree. His injury was too catastrophic to return at the start of next season IMO.

 

[ctrcat]

The only way they cut him is if they are very desperate for money or if they are bearish on his recovery.

And I doubt the second happens, because it's very hard to say what Graham's recovery might look like. There are only about 2-3 of these injuries a year league wide on average, so the sample size to go from is very small compared to ACL. And as far as I know, there has never been a 6'6" uber athletic TE with any kind of real production to have this injury before. Nobody really knows how Graham will recover, but it's worth noting that some players have bounced back from it, such as cornerback Nate Allen. Some haven't, but it's not a death sentence.

Here's something to keep in mind about Graham's value. Graham for his career has been very good against Carolina, in fact his game against Carolina with Seattle earlier this season was his career best against the Panthers. Since Graham's breakout season in 2011, he's totaled a line of 63 catches for 793 yards and 7 TDs over 9 games vs. Carolina.

Prorate those numbers over 16 games and you get the following line: 112 catches, 1403 yards, 12 TDs. Which is to say that when Graham is facing the Panthers, it's like adding an MVP candidate to your offense. And with Carolina lording over a terrible division, it seems likely that Seattle will continue to face them 1-2 times every year in games with huge implications, so this is pretty important.

And for as good as Seattle's weapons have become, Graham provided the team their only big target. Finding a big target has been a goal for Pete all along, from BMW to Sidney Rice to Braylon Edwards to Chris Matthews. It's an area that matters to Pete (as evidenced by him paying top dollar for Sidney Rice and Zach Miller for 3 seasons).

Graham didn't fit the Seahawks when he first came here, when they were the truest of run first teams. But now that Seattle is so spread heavy and dependent on the pass, his acquisition seems like it was looking to the future all along. It's just too bad about that damn knee.

Shaq was literally drafted for that reason, and in all likelihood Harper will be replaced for that reason. The Panthers already had far better 2013 and 2014 drafts so to give the Panthers 5 years of Shaq on a rookie deal while getting nothing more with a 2015 1st rounder would be insane.

 

[flmmkrz]

just mind boggling that anybody thinks cutting Jimmy at this stage is a bright idea.

 

[acbass]

That's a good point about the offensive linemen. So many colleges use the spread offense. Our talent pool to choose from will greatly increase as they will be easier to evaluate. That plus lessening the learning curve will make it far easier to build that line.

 

[Hasselbeck]

Only reason you cut him is if you're sure that hes not going to be the same player in 2016.

The offense started to lean more on the passing game .. we need a weapon like Graham to keep defenses honest.

 

[Largent80]

I want Jimmy right here on the Hawks. Screw the money aspect.

 

[CodeWarrior]

This team is evolving in to a pass first offense, so let's cut arguably our greatest pass catcher.

I think people that are expecting a heavy expenditure on the OL this off season are going to be sorely disappointed.

 

[CPHawk]

People want to get rid of everyone around here. Okung, Bennett, kam, the rest of the OL. If we let all these guys walk, we'll have lots of money, but who will we spend it on? We need to keep some of these guys, and Jimmy is at the top of the list of guys to keep.

 

[IndyHawk]

Keep him if he is going to be healthy again.JG in this new offense would be awesome just as it was with the Saints.