Chicago Bears tight end Jimmy Graham was awful in Sunday’s Week 8 overtime loss to the Saints. He was targeted seven times, tied for the second-most on offense, and managed just two catches for 13 yards.
Graham looked slow, sluggish, and disinterested. He couldn’t win the contested catch, had no lift in his jumps, and ran without the kind of power and intensity that’s been his trademark throughout his career.
Graham was so bad that FOX analyst Troy Aikman noted several poor reps during the broadcast in which Graham failed to run at top speed during his route. He made Nick Foles’ job more difficult, and apparently, he knows it.
“I wasn’t good enough,” Graham tweeted after the game. “I Let my team, city amd myself down. I own it. I will be better.”
Graham was signed to a two-year, $16 million contract by the Bears in free agency and got off to a hot start in 2020. He had four touchdowns in the first five games but has failed to make an impact over the last three weeks.
Chicago spent a second-round pick on Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet, who’s flashed more juice and playmaking upside than Graham in his limited opportunities this year, and after Sunday’s decrepit outing by Graham, Kmet’s reps should skyrocket over the next few games.
