At one point early in the Saints' Week 14 win over the Panthers, one defender looked at Jimmy Graham and asked him what a 50-year-old man was doing out there still playing in the NFL.
The legendary Saints TE, of course, is still pretty far removed from the half-century mark, but he didn't let that fact prevent him from using the remark as fresh motivation as he played a key role in turning a close game into a 28-6 laugher.
"If I’m 50 and, you know, I jump over you and I’m making these plays, you know, it’s more of like an inspiration for everybody, for kids, you know what I mean?" Graham said after the game. "I came in here as a college basketball player with a hope and a dream. This team believed in me, and again this team believed in me in my late 30s. So, you know, every time I put that thing on I’ve got something to prove.”
The line of 2 catches for 16 yards and a touchdown certainly won't blow anyone away, but it finally fulfilled the role that was teased for the 37-year-old behemoth ever since he re-signed with the Saints in the offseason after seven seasons spent away from his former team and one year out of football entirely. The two catches doubled his season total, but of those four catches, three have gone for touchdowns.
The lone non-touchdown was probably the most impressive, with Graham turning back the clock and going up for a ball that only he could reach to convert a key first down with the game still in doubt. Derek Carr hit Chris Olave on a slant for a 7-yard touchdown on the next play.
Four Saints offensive plays later, Graham was in the endzone for a TD of his own, his second in as many weeks in front of a fanbase that had been waiting all season to see exactly that. He even went up for a dunk, but it was a pump fake. He's already had one $32,000 fine for defying the rule he inspired. That was enough.
"I’m blessed to be able to play this game at 37," Graham said. "I feel like I’ve been kind of an underdog most of my life, so every play I get out there in that jersey, I play with a chip on my shoulder and I’m always trying to prove people wrong. I had to throw the walker to the side today to make a couple plays, but it’s magical playing here.”
That magical feeling was something Graham discovered he missed greatly in 2022, when he picked up endurance cycling and moved onto a sailboat, named Flight Risk, as he prepares to eventually sail around the world.
Graham was actually biking across Tuscany this past offseason when he got the call from Saints GM Mickey Loomis with a simple question: "Can you still run?"
His answer: "Maybe."
The cycling had helped build up strength in a knee that had been balky since a significant injury suffered as a member of the Seahawks, and he felt as good as he had in years. Still he hadn't run a route since 2021. He didn't really have the answer until he arrived in New Orleans for a workout.
"I came in here and ran some routes for the first time with the ball in the air and looked fast," he said. "So they ended up signing me and here we are.”
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But as the excitement for Graham's role hung in the air, it never really came in for a landing. The TE caught a touchdown early in a Week 3 loss to the Packers, and registered one target that was dropped during a Week 5 win over the Patriots. That was it through the first 12 weeks of the season. In fact, Graham was a healthy scratch for four consecutive games, with one of the Saints' biggest offensive issues being the ability to convert touchdowns in the red zone.
That came to a head during a Week 12 loss to the Falcons, when the Saints failed to score a single touchdown despite five trips into the red zone. Coaches maintained that it wasn't a health issue, simply a numbers game. You can only have 48 players active on gameday, and a player with a limited role who doesn't contribute on special teams found himself on the wrong side of that bubble.
Whether through necessity or a change in philosophy, Graham's return to the lineup has brought with it hyper efficiency in the red zone, with the Saints converting for touchdown on 7 of 8 red zone trips the past two weeks.
"I just knew I needed to stay ready for the opportunity," Graham said, "so I did a lot of biking and just made sure I was just mentally ready for it so I could rise up and make a play and, you know, glad that happened.”
At least for the time being the Saints have found a way to return some positivity after a three-game losing streak dating back to Week 9. With a win over the Panthers the Saints now find themselves in a three-way tie for the NFC South lead, with the Bucs and Falcons also sitting at 6-7. Graham, being the only Saints offensive player that can recall the Brees era pre-2017, is keenly aware of some frustration among the fanbase.
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He's heard the boos, they all have, as the offense has sputtered. That was true in Week 13 with an anemic offensive first quarter, though the touchdown drive he capped off helped quell that. It was true again in Week 14, with the Saints scuffling through three quarters before a pair of scoring drives in the final 10 minutes. But he knows as well as anyone what it takes to get the belief back in the building.
“This place is, they are accustomed to winning at a high level," Graham said, when asked about the atmosphere in the building. "They are accustomed to going out there and putting up 50 points on everybody, you know? And that’s something that when I hear it, it motivates me, because I know it just takes one play and that thing will switch. ... I know this crowd, they love us, they believe in us and they’re there for us, but you’ve got to make them stand up and holler. They love to dance and they love to party, so you’ve got to give them a reason to.”
If the Saints can manage to keep their crowd dancing over the final four weeks of the season, it's likely Graham will have a role in it.