Jimmy Graham 'not sure yet' on retirement, to make decision based on Saints

Jimmy Graham hasn’t yet made his mind up on retirement.

The 37-year-old tight end who returned to the NFL last season after a year out of the league told ESPN “he’s not sure yet” whether he’ll play another year of football.

“I’m gonna reach out to the Saints and figure out what’s best, and then make the decision on when it’s best for me to retire,” Graham said, via ESPN’s Katherine Terrell.

In the meanwhile, Graham is continuing to prepare for a 1,000-kilometer row across open ocean near Norway north of the Arctic Circle. Graham is part of a four-person team, which includes a married couple from New Orleans, that is training for the July 2025 event known as “The Arctic Challenge.”

Graham’s football exploits are well-known, but he’s also an extreme-sports enthusiast who’s an avid cyclist and has spoken previously about wanting to sail around the world. Graham also is a licensed pilot.

If Graham does decide to return to football, he said it would only be with the Saints — the team he started his career with and the one he intends to finish with.

“I don’t have any expectations,” Graham said. “I just want to make sure when I retire, it’s as a Saint, and it’s when they want me to. I’ll just make sure I give them a call and see exactly when they want me to retire, and then I’ll end up doing it.”

Originally a third-round pick of New Orleans in 2010, the Saints brought back Graham on a one-year deal prior to last season. He made the roster following a strong performance in the team’s preseason finale and ended up playing 13 regular-season games (two starts) last year. Although Graham caught only six passes for 39 yards in 2023, four of his catches went for touchdowns.

Graham had been out of football in the 2022 season, spending the two prior seasons with the Chicago Bears. In a 13-year NFL career with the Saints, Seahawks, Packers and Bears, Graham has caught 719 passes for 8,545 yards (11.9-yard average) and 89 touchdowns.

The Saints signed free-agent tight end Foster Moreau this offseason, joining holdovers Juwan Johnson, Taysom Hill and others at the position.