Former Packers TE Jimmy Graham agrees to deal with Bears

The former Packers TE is staying in the NFC North, agreeing to a deal with the Bears.

The Green Bay Packers will see former teammate Jimmy Graham twice in 2020 and maybe twice more in 2021.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Graham agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with the Chicago Bears on Monday, keeping the veteran tight end within the NFC North. The deal includes $9 million in guaranteed money.

The Packers released Graham last Thursday, ending his disappointing two-year run in Green Bay. Despite playing 32 regular-season games with Aaron Rodgers between 2018-19, Graham caught just 93 total passes and scored only five touchdowns.

The Packers originally signed Graham to a three-year deal worth $30 million, making him the league’s highest-paid tight end. They saved $8 million on the cap by releasing him.

Graham, who turns 34 years old in November, never showed the receiving talent or pure athleticism that once made him one of the most dominant pass-catching tight ends in the NFL. Obvious physical regression and a lack of contested catches marred his time with the Packers.

Graham did catch a touchdown pass on a free play during the Packers’ Week 1 win over the Bears to kick off the 2019 season. The year prior, his drop in the end zone resulted in a season-ending interception at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Discarded by the Packers, Graham will now get another opportunity to revive his career in the NFC North.

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