Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider had a conference call with team beat reporters Tuesday evening about the trade to acquire tight end Jimmy Graham. Here is what they had to say:
Carroll: “It’s so rare that you get the opportunity to get a player that can make these kinds of plays. It really got us excited. He’s a fantastic target that we can implement in a number of ways. He plays big and makes plays on top of guys. He’s a very effective player in the red zone and a consistent scorer.
“He’s been a very productive player. He’s had 46 touchdowns since 2011. He’s a big target that has a basketball background. He has the ability to get off the ground and play up high. He has a real sense for finishing plays around the goal line and finding his way in after the catch. He’s just a fantastic talent and great weapon for us. I’m sure he will be a great benefit to our passing game. He brings us an obvious opportunity to get the ball in the end zone.”
Schneider on how the deal happened: “We started talking to [the Saints] three days ago about general things and a lot of different players. This is one of the players that was brought up and we continued to pursue it. You never know how serious people are. It just depends on the different scenarios that you talk through.
“We think he’s a heck of a player. This is an offensive weapon we’re adding, a big-time difference maker at his position.”
Schneider on having to give up center Max Unger: “Anytime you make a deal like this it’s not going to be just a handover. Obviously, we’re going to miss Max’s leadership. He’s been a core part of what we’ve been doing here the last several years. But we always talk about not having a finish line. This is just part of it, a tough decision, but we have to keep moving this thing forward.”
Carroll on losing Unger: “We’re gonna miss Max. He’s been a great part of our team, but we had to go there to get this deal done.”
Carroll on who will replace Unger at center: “We’re going to figure it out as we go. We had four guys play there for us last year [Patrick Lewis, Lemuel Jeanpierre, Stephen Schilling and Unger], so we do have some experience there. We’ve got guys we know that can play.”
Carroll on Graham’s reputation of being a poor blocker: “He’s worked at his blocking. Guys can always improve. The main thing is he competes hard at it. He’s a big body and so long that he’s hard to get around. He takes up a lot of space.”
Carroll on Russell Wilson's thought about the trade: “I talked to Russ and he was fired up about it. As a matter of fact, he had already talked to [Graham] and they were working on dates to get together in the offseason.”
Carroll in whether linebacker Bruce Irvin and other Seahawks will have any lingering bad feelings over previous altercations with Graham: “I’m not worried about it a bit. It’s just gamesmanship and guys getting ready to play. I know a number of our players have already contacting Jimmy.”
