re: Loomis: Graham WILL be franchised if no long-term deal is met

quote:

---

No? I believe I stated
quote:
have the top TE in the league
. What more needs to be said?

---

Seriously? You have to evaluate everything related to the team and decide what makes you better. Paying Graham now, can have an impact on keeping future players.

quote:

---

1. this is such a broad statement. WR money can range anywhere from Calvin Johnson to Nick Toon.

---

You are lost. We need to pay him TE money. If Toon money is below top TE money, then obviously that's a moot point. If Toon money is 5M+ over the top TE salary then we have a problem.

quote:

---

2. I clearly state that he should not be paid top 5 WR money

---

Way to go out on a limb.

quote:

---

3. He needs to be paid somewhere between the top TE contract and the top WR contract, since this sums up what his role is.

---

No. He needs to be offered something very similar to the top TE contract. It's asinine to offer anything other than that.

quote:

---

4. I did state that based on his playing time, if francised, he should be done so by WR standards. This by no means translates to me saying we should sign him long term to top 5 WR contract. Again, the franchise and long-term contracts are two completely seperate discussions

---

The Saints will franchise him as a WR only if they have to.

quote:

---

He's not a TE. He's a TE/WR, and deserves accordingly. He should be paid in the range of Gronkowski (who was paid handsomely), plus a little extra (since this is how contracts work)

---

I agree that he should be paid like Gronkowski. But, it's not because he deserves to be paid like a WR.