New Orleans Saints trade Jimmy Graham to Seattle Seahawks

NFL free agency officially got underway on Tuesday afternoon with a flurry of major moves being made by teams around the league. Although plenty of big-name free agents were on the move, the biggest deal made with a trade from the defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks.

According to ESPN, the Seahawks have acquired perennial Pro Bowler Jimmy Graham from the New Orleans Saints:

The New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks have agreed to a trade sending Pro Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham to Seattle for multiple draft picks and center Max Unger, according to league sources.

This move came out of nowhere with no indication the Saints were willing to trade arguably the best tight end in the NFL. Graham and the New Orleans franchise haven’t seen eye-to-eye over the past few years making the relationship strained to say the least.

As for the Seahawks, quarterback Russell Wilson will finally have that superstar target in the passing game along with Pro Bowler Marshawn Lynch still coming out the backfield to keep the defense guessing. Wilson is on the verge of receiving a new long-term deal with the Seahawks and may take the next step in his development to become a dominant passer with Graham in his arsenal.

With the Saints moving on without Graham, the writing seems to be on the wall that the once dominant franchise is rebuilding. Quarterback Drew Brees isn’t the top tier talent of old and the franchise may have decided that it is time to cut their losses and start over.

Along with the Graham deal, a few other trades were made on Tuesday. The Detroit Lions acquired Haloti Ngata from the Baltimore Ravens and the St. Louis Rams were able to land quarterback Nick Foles from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Sam Bradford.