Like most of the football world, Jimmy Graham was shocked he was traded from the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday, just a year after inking the richest contract ever for a tight end.
Speaking with reporters on a conference call Thursday the new Seahawk said when Saints coach Sean Payton called him to relay news of the trade he thought he'd end up on one of the teams with a lot of cap space -- Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars.
"But when he told me Seattle, it definitely put a grin on my face," Graham said, per the Seattle Times.
The 28-year-old has had some notable run-ins with the Seahawks -- both pre and in game -- in the past but is glad he's joining the back-to-back NFC champions.
"I've had some battles clearly against their defense the last couple of years," Graham said. "We've struggled against them as a team as a whole. It's probably the one game as a player you always look forward to because they're always so good, and it's usually a prime-time game.
"So for me it was a moment of shock, but once that shock cleared, I realized that I was going to the best team in football."
The best football team in the NFC just got better thanks to the Saints.
The Seahawks needed a game-changing red-zone threat and plucked one of the best in the NFL. Graham knows exactly what he'll bring to Russell Wilson's offense.
"You won't be able to go Cover Zero to stop the run, and I think I can help open (the running game) up," he said. "And then in the red zone, that's something I've always been good at. I'm 6-7, 260 pounds, and most of those are like a rebound for me."
Everyone in the NFC hates the Saints right now.
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