Longtime NFL tight end Jimmy Graham officially announce his retirement on Tuesday, stating that he plans to retire as a New Orleans Saint, where he spent six of his 13 NFL seasons.

The longtime tight end told John DeShazier (via the Saints’ website) that he will retire later this year. “What a journey,” Graham wrote on X to confirm the retirement news, along with black and yellow hearts and a praying hands emoji.

Graham, 38, was a third-round draft pick out of Miami in 2010, and has played with the Saints, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears over 13 seasons. After sitting out the 2022 season, Graham returned to New Orleans on a one-year deal in 2023 where he played in 13 games and scored four times. He had previously played in New Orleans to start out his career from 2010-14.

A five-time Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro in 2013, Graham recorded two 1,000-plus yard receiving seasons and led the NFL in receiving touchdowns in 2013 with 16. He made 719 receptions, recorded 8,545 receiving yards and 89 touchdowns in his career. Graham will finish his career with 134 starts in 197 games played — he caught 719 passes for 8,545 yards and 89 touchdowns, and notched two 1,000-plus receiving yard seasons in 2011 and ’13 with the Saints. His 1,310 receiving yards in ’11 made him the first Saints tight end to finish with over 1,000 yards in a season, and he sits in seventh all-time for the most receiving yards by a tight end in a single season in NFL history.

Graham recently helped set a record as part of a team of Americans who participated in the ‘Arctic Challenge’ —  a journey across the Arctic Ocean that saw Graham and three other team members row over 584 nautical miles in 10 days. According to the Ocean Rowing Society, the team finished in a world record time of 10 days and 5 hours. That previous world record for a four-person team was 15 days, 5 hours and 32 minutes, set by Ocean Revival in 2023. When he began training for the Arctic Challenge in 2024, Graham wasn’t sure if he was retired and added if he did play again it would only be with the Saints.

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