RENTON, Wash. -- The NFL's Oct. 31 trade deadline is fast approaching, and no player on the Seattle Seahawks' roster seems to generate more trade buzz than tight end Jimmy Graham.
It's understandable. Seattle is as active as any team in the trade market and Graham is in the final year of his contract, potentially in line to command more money in free agency than the Seahawks will be willing to pay to re-sign him.
But trading the 30-year-old, eight-year veteran seems unlikely at this point. Here are three big reasons why:
1. Graham is helping the Seahawks' offense. This may come as news to those who subscribe to the notion that Graham is a poor fit in Seattle, but he's been a productive player in his two-plus seasons here. His 923 receiving yards last season ranked third among tight ends and established a franchise record for a Seahawks tight end, as did Graham's 65 receptions. He got off to a slow start in the first two games this season, but he has caught 20 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns over the past four. Dropped passes have been an issue this season, and his red zone production overall during his time in Seattle has left a lot to be desired. But both of his touchdowns this season have come on jump balls at the goal line, and one of the passes he dropped last week was on a similar throw, so Graham is becoming a bigger part of Seattle's offense in that part of the field. The Seahawks would be much more apt to trade Graham if their season was a lost cause, but at 4-2, they're in contention and not in position to be trading away any playmakers.
2. Graham's contract would be tough to move. Any team that trades for Graham would have to take on the remainder of his $7.9 million base salary for 2017, which amounts to about $4.6 million over the final 10 weeks of the regular season. That's a hefty charge. Something else to consider is that the price tag for the NFL's top tight ends hasn't risen in recent years the way it has for other positions. No one has topped the four-year, $40 million deal that Graham signed in 2014 with New Orleans. The free-agent market for tight ends was particularly weak last offseason, presumably due in part to how strong the draft was at that position. It's why, for example, Martellus Bennett was able to get a deal averaging only $7 million from Green Bay. Point being: Teams weren't exactly lining up to pay big money to tight ends in March, so how many of them would be willing to take on Graham's salary now?
3. Getting value in return would be hard. Trading Graham would be appealing only if the Seahawks could get enough back in the form of a draft pick and/or a player. But that's much easier said than done. If it's just for a draft pick, Seattle may not be able to get anything higher than a fifth-rounder given Graham's salary and the fact he's under contract only for the remainder of this season. The Seahawks potentially could get a better compensatory pick by letting Graham walk in free agency. That pick would be in the following year's draft, which reduces the current value, but that option would mean having Graham for the rest of 2017. Trading Graham for a left tackle may make some sense on paper, but it's not that simple. The Seahawks had interest in the Texans' Duane Brown, but that ship appears to have sailed now that he's ended his holdout. Cleveland's Joe Thomas, who may never have been a realistic option in the first place, just suffered a season-ending injury. If the 49ers are willing to trade Joe Staley as they continue to rebuild, they'd want draft picks in return as opposed to a veteran like Graham, who turns 31 next month. Cordy Glenn is part of the Bills' surplus at tackle, but he's in the second year of a contract that averages $12 million, which could be prohibitive for the Seahawks given their salary-cap constraints. Maybe there's a cheaper option available, but would that player constitute enough of an upgrade to make up for what Seattle would miss without Graham?
The Seahawks have pulled off too many surprise moves to be able to rule out anything with absolute certainty. No one saw their trade for Percy Harvin coming, nor the one for Graham, for that matter. And as general manager John Schneider said in his pregame radio interview with 710 ESPN Seattle on Sunday, he'll be looking into every possibility.
"We're just constantly in talks with as many people as we possibly can be, just looking at our roster and seeing how we can help it at every position," Schneider said.
The Seahawks may consider a trade involving Graham, but it's hard to imagine them finding one that makes them appreciably better in 2017.