A lot of people joked that the Chicago Bears were out of their minds when they signed Jimmy Graham to a $16 million deal this offseason. The guy was about to turn 34-years old. He was coming off the worst season of his career. It made no sense. GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy didn’t care. They still felt the former All-Pro had something to contribute.
Based on accounts of the second padded practice of training camp? They have reason to feel some vindication. The tight end gave the Bears defense fits all morning long according to multiple accounts. He caught almost everything thrown his way including a number of touchdowns. Every time that happened he would either spike it or throw it 40 yards down the practice field.
It got so consistent to a point that members of the defense started to get angry. None apparently more so than Deon Bush. After Graham made yet another catch during drills, the safety lit into the tight end with a strong tackle. Something that was not allowed by the coaches at that time. This led to a scuffle between the two.
Jimmy Graham could open up a lost dimension of Bears offense
This is exactly what Nagy and the coaches were hoping for. Not only is Graham showing a level of talent the Bears haven’t had at that position. His passion and edge also seem to rub off on his teammates. The wide receivers also had their strong moments against the defense. They were the aggressors. Something that wasn’t the case too often last year.
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If Graham can carry this over into the regular season, the offense could look entirely different. Not just in approach but in quality. Not having any credible threat at tight end was a constant issue for the Bears in 2019. If this guy can regain some of that form he had 5-6 years ago? This team should be able to score more points.