Jimmy Graham’s comeback isn’t over

When all is said and done, Jimmy Graham will surely go down as one of the best tight ends of his generation. He was a crucial element in the New Orleans Saints offense for years, racking up touchdowns and dunking on goalposts for fun (until the NFL banned his signature celebration, because No Fun League).

Things were a bit rougher after his surprising trade to the Seattle Seahawks, and they took an ugly turn with a career-threatening knee injury. Torn patellar tendons are nothing to mess with, which guys like Victor Cruz and LeCharles Bentley learned the hard way.

Yet, we probably shouldn’t have doubted Graham in the first place — he came back from the injury without missing a beat. With his contract expiring after the year, the Seahawks haven’t made any indication as to whether they plan on keeping the 30-year-old around.

If Graham does hit the open market in 2018, he’ll almost certainly be the best free-agent tight end available even with his advancing age and injury history.

Despite being mostly a basketball player in college (he played just one year of football at the University of Miami), Graham’s athletic gifts made him a fascinating NFL prospect. He ran a 4.56 at the combine while measuring in at 6’6, 260 pounds — a combination of size and speed that would make him an imposing matchup for opponents.

Sure enough, the Saints got the most they could out of Graham after selecting him in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft. He went on to be one of the most prolific tight ends in the game, scoring 51 touchdowns in five seasons with the Saints. In 2014, New Orleans gave Graham a four-year contract extension, worth up to $40 million with $20.9 million in guarantees. It seemed liked Graham would be a Saint for life, forming a career-long connection with Drew Brees similar to the one shared by Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates.

Unfortunately, Graham’s Saints tenure didn’t last long after that. He had another strong performance in 2014 with 10 touchdowns and 885 yards on 85 catches, but the Saints ran into salary cap hell in the offseason and needed to clear space off the books, so they decided to put Graham on the trade market. The Seahawks pounced, sending a first-round pick and center Max Unger to New Orleans.

It was a stunning trade on the Seahawks’ end, especially when they gave up their starting center on an already shaky offensive line. Nonetheless, they finally had a dynamic pass-catching threat at tight end, something that Russell Wilson lacked up to that point.

However, Graham had a slower start than expected with the Seahawks in 2015. Through 11 games, he had 74 targets and 48 catches but reached the end zone just two times, well off his usual career numbers. Much was made of the Seahawks using Graham more as a blocker, which Field Gulls explored in depth here.

Despite the concerns about his usage, Graham was a valuable asset in the offense until his season ended on the worst possible note. During a Week 12 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Graham tore his patellar tendon, one of the most severe knee injuries an athlete can suffer. He was immediately ruled out for the year, and with the injury occurring late in the season, there was legitimate doubt that Graham would be ready for the start of 2016.

In short: Graham’s first year with the Seahawks was a disappointment, and it didn’t look like Seattle was going to get much return for the heavy price it paid.

Graham spent the entire offseason rehabbing the knee, and it would’ve been safe to assume that he’d open the season on the PUP list, sitting out the first six weeks. For comparison’s sake, Cruz tore his patellar tendon late in the 2014 season, sat out all of 2015, and didn’t return until last year, mostly looking like a shell of his former self.

But Graham managed to defy all expectations and was back on the field for Week 1. Fully integrated into the Seahawks offense, he became one of Wilson’s more reliable weapons, turning 95 targets into 65 catches, 923 yards, and nine touchdowns. He still wasn’t quite the focal point that he was in New Orleans, but Graham firmly re-established himself as one of the league’s better tight ends and was named to the third Pro Bowl of his career.

He did all that even though he wasn’t completely healthy last season, according to Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.

“We had to manage him the whole year,” Carroll told ESPN’s Sheil Kapadia. “He just kept hanging in there. He played in every game and didn’t miss any time, but he wasn’t at his best. You can see him now. But that’s what great athletes, great performers and great competitors do.”

Now one year further removed from surgery, Graham is just about at full health heading into training camp. He turns 31 in November and the Seahawks will likely limit his practice time, but it’s impressive how much Graham bounced back from such a serious injury.

All eyes will be on his knee this season, but if Graham gets through it and keeps producing as a top-tier tight end, he should have little trouble scoring a comfortable long-term deal, either with the Seahawks or in free agency.