Jimmy Graham was clearly emotional as came off the field after his first Saints touchdown since 2014, even if it didn't technically count.
That's because, despite being a Saints living legend, he knew that there was nothing guaranteed for him this season. That's why he was out there in the first place.
"I know I entered that game trying to fight for my life," he said this week, "to be able to sit in this room and sit in this building and chase something special."
Graham had three catches for 34 yards, two of those plays vintage Jimmy Graham plays, including the touchdown. It felt definitive, and a few days later that's what it turned out to be, with the 36-year-old landing on the 53-man roster following one of the more competitive camps in recent memory.
"We don't have to see it every day from these guys, particularly the veteran guys, but at some point we have to see it," head coach Dennis Allen said. "And we saw it tonight."
It was also a camp that featured a bizarre point for Graham, with the TE participating in a pair of joint practices with the L.A. Chargers, then an hour later being taken into custody by police as he was disoriented and wandering near the team hotel. He was ultimately hospitalized for what the team described as a possible seizure and he didn't play in the game that weekend.
He was able to suit up a week later and wouldn't elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the incident or any treatment this week. He also won't face any charges from the incident, and Graham said the incident didn't affect his status or standing with the team in any way.
"There was a lot of outside chatter on some things, obviously, that are out of our control," Graham said. "But for me, I just knew that we had a great room. I know this is a wild team to make right now. There’s so much talent."
He's now eager to put the incident behind him and focus on the roster that he's officially a part of. On Sunday he'll take the field in a regular season game for the first time, again, since he departed by trade in 2015.
But can he be more than a feel-good story? If he is, his bicycle will be one of the first things to be praised. In his year away from football he took up cycling, which he credits to strengthening the knee that has given him issues all throughout the latter stages of his NFL career following a major injury in 2016 as a member of the Seahawks. His knee feels as good as it ever has, he said. He even bought a Peloton for the Saints weight room to keep that up in-season.
"Truly, I wish I found cycling a decade ago," Graham said. "That would’ve helped me out of a lot of pain and a lot of … issues just trying to always keep it right and all the rehab I had to go through."
How Graham slots into a tight end room alongside Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau remains to be seen, but we can be sure the red zone will be a part of that. As he points out, he's still 6-7. In the end, Graham says he's just thrilled to be a part of things with the Saints again, and he echoed a sentiment we've heard up and down the roster heading into one of the more highly anticipated seasons in some time.
"It’s a special time to be a New Orleans Saint," he said, "and I’m very proud to be able to wear that jersey again.”
