Jimmy Graham acknowledged Friday that his right shoulder has hindered his production this season. The tight end added that he would get another MRI after Sunday's finale to see if he needs offseason surgery.
"I'm not going to make any excuses for it," he said, per The Times-Picayune. "I think everyone plays hurt in this league. That's just a part of the job."
Graham added that the shoulder "was a battle every game. That's just how it is when you're trying to stay healthy."
As Around The NFL's Chris Wesseling pointed out earlier this month, Graham has been severely limited by injury the past two seasons, which has sapped his playmaking ability.
When healthy the past two years, the tight end has averaged eight receptions, 104 yards and a touchdown per game. However, in games when dealing with a plantar fascia injury in 2013 and the shoulder injury this year that average has plummeted to 4.5 catches, 52 yards and 0.8 touchdowns.
With one game remaining in 2014, Graham has 79 receptions, 835 yards, 10 touchdowns. He still made the Pro Bowl, but those number fall short of last year and much shorter than his personal standards.
"You know, a pretty good year for other people is a bad year for me," he said. "I'm going to get it right in the end."
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