NFL Player News

The Saints and tight end Jimmy Graham are "still millions apart annually" in their contract talks, reports NFL.com. If the sides don't close the gap, look for New Orleans to slap the franchise tag on Graham by March 3.

Fox Sports reports New Orleans is willing to pay Graham more than $9 million annually. Graham, however, wants to be paid like a star wideout.

Colts tight end Dwayne Allen, who's rehabbing from October hip surgery, is expected to be ready for the start of training camp, reports the Terre Haute Tribune-Star. Allen anticipates being medically cleared well before then.

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett doesn't expect tight end Jason Witten to lose any playing time to second-year Gavin Escobar in 2014, reports ESPN.

"Witt's a great football player and has been for a long time, a Pro Bowler again last year," Garrett said. "In my opinion, our opinion, the best tight end in football and has been for decades. Witt's certainly going to be a big part of what we do with our offensive football team. But that doesn't mean Gavin can't be more involved."

Witten had 73 catches for 851 yards and eight touchdowns in 2013. Escobar had just nine catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie.

New Lions coach Jim Caldwell called free agent tight end Brandon Pettigrew a big and talented player who excels as a blocker and receiver, but was vague about whether the team will try to re-sign him.

“We’ve got to look at every option and that’s one of the things,” Caldwell said, per ESPN.com. “We’ve got to have contingencies for every single thing and that’s one of the things. We have to have contingencies for every single thing so we look at it on both sides of it and see how things work out.”

Even though Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis is slated to earn $6.7 million in salary this season, he is expected to return to the team, reports CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason LaCanfora.

The report says the thought around the league is the team will cut Lewis, but LaCanfora reports "I'm told he will be back."

Lewis had 25 catches for 359 yards and four touchdowns in 2013.

The Lions and representatives for tight end Brandon Pettigrew will meet this week at the NFL combine to talk about the free agent's future, says the Detroit Free Press.

Pettigrew is a candidate for the franchise tag assuming the Lions want him back and feel the $6.8 million guaranteed is a fair price for his services for 2014. New offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi admitted he's appealing because of his blocking skills last week. 

Pettigrew caught 41 passes for 416 yards and two touchdowns, his lowest output since his rookie year of 2009. 

Jimmy Graham is listed as a tight end by the Saints and is commonly thought of as a tight end. But he'll file a grievance against the Saints if they designate him as such with the franchise tag this offseason, NFL Network reports.

It's expected that the Saints won't let Graham test free agency this offseason because the team can tag him. But the difference in price between the franchise tag for a tight end and the franchise tag for a wide receiver is nearly $5 million. 

"That's where we drafted him, that's where we play him," Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "In our view he's a tight end. That's what makes him valuable."

Graham puts up stats and is utilized like a receiver. Last year he caught 86 passes for 1,215 yards and an NFL-best 16 touchdowns.

Saints tight end Jimmy Graham opted to stay out of the debate of whether he should be viewed as a tight end or receiver when it comes to his status for the franchise tag, reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

"That's not for me to decide," Graham said. "I'm going to do, and I'm going to play, whatever I'm asked to do. It's that simple."

Graham, a free agent this offseason, said he doesn't know where he stands right now with a long-term deal or getting the franchise tag.

"For me, I'm just standing," Graham said. "I take every day one day at a time. I'm just going to wait and see what happens because that's where it's at. ... I'll be ready like I always will be."

It's early, and the Lions could always move in another direction, but there's an indication that Joseph Fauria could emerge as Detroit's primary tight end in 2014.

This is especially relevant since the guy calling the Lions' plays, Joe Lombardi, is a former Saints assistant who will use the Saints playbook as a basis for the one he'll call plays from in Detroit. And you know who the Saints tight end is, right?

Fauria has intrigued me because of his size. I'm not sure if he has the pure athleticism and speed Graham has but after scoring seven times on 18 catches last year as an undrafted rookie there's clearly a role for him at least in the red zone. Plus if he's out there along with Calvin Johnson, Reggie Bush and whoever lines up at receiver then he'll be a tough guy to cover. 

I've added Fauria to the bottom of my sleeper tight ends list and would consider a late-round pick on him in Fantasy drafts. 

New Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi says he plans to use the Saints playbook as a starting point for Detroit's new offense. 

Does that mean second-year tight end Joe Fauria could play in the same kind of capacity as Jimmy Graham in New Orleans? That's what the 6-foot-7 tight end is aiming for. 

"I have a similar background to (Graham) with basketball and similar height and the way we play," Fauria said. "I'm not calling myself Jimmy Graham, but I strive to have the kind of production he has. I think I can contribute very similarly to how he has with the Saints."

Fauria told his trainer he wants to fine-tune "everything" this season and has already had a number of talks with his position coach, Ron Prince, about improving everything from his skill set to his playing time. 

The Lions' official team website notes that if the team doesn't re-sign Brandon Pettigrew then Fauria's chances of being a contributor go up significantly.