Green Bay Packers: 5 Options To Replace Jimmy Graham

The Green Bay Packers will likely move on from Jimmy Graham this offseason and should replace him with one of these five players.

It feels like the Green Bay Packers have been searching for a reliable tight end since the loss of Jermichael Finley. They’ve cycled through veterans such as Jared Cook, Martellus Bennett and now Jimmy Graham with varying degrees of success.

Graham is still a member of the Packers and, as of now, is under contract for one more season. However, it’s extremely likely Green Bay will cut him and save $8 million for next year. When that move happens, here are five options to replace him as the starter next season.

Charles Clay

Clay would be just another stopgap for the Packers, but it would at least buy them a little more time to find their long-term tight end. At 31-years-old, he never turned into the potential receiving threat many thought he could be after posting 69 receptions, 759 yards and six touchdowns with the Miami Dolphins back in 2013. However, he’s still a reliable option.

Despite having down seasons in 2018 and 2019, it’s hard to completely blame him for those performances. After all, he was playing for the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals respectively. At this point in his career, he’d be an upgrade over Graham and come at a cheap price. The Packers could likely sign him for cheap, saving money for other positions.

Blake Jarwin

Playing just three seasons in the NFL, Blake Jarwin is a little-known tight end from the Dallas Cowboys. He was a walk-on at Oklahoma State and then went undrafted in 2017. Yet, here he is coming off back to back seasons with at least 300 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

At 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds, Jarwin is a good blocker in the run game. This would be a huge improvement over Graham’s inabilities. He can also catch the ball a little bit and give the Packers a lesser option in the passing game.

Tyler Eifert

Tyler Eifert is a big-time tight end talent with big-time injury risks. He’s only played 16 games once in his seven-year career and that was last season. Despite the huge injury red flags, he could be a high-risk, high-reward type player.

Eifert possesses good athleticism for the position and a huge target at 6-foot-6. When he was healthy, he was a major red zone threat and could immediately help the Packers in that area of the field. Hopefully, he could build off a somewhat healthy season and get his career back on track as he heads into his 30s.

Jace Sternberger

The Packers drafted Jace Sternberger in the third round of last year’s draft with a succession plan in mind. Unfortunately, injuries prevented him from playing at the beginning of the season and he only appeared in six games with Green Bay–never catching a pass.

The hope is the limited experience on offense (60 snaps) could at least give him something to prepare for heading into the 2020 campaign. Green Bay hopes he’s their long-term option at tight end; the question is will he be ready to contribute in his second season?

Eric Ebron

One of the four best tight ends available in free agency, Eric Ebron might be the top of the mountain for the Packers (assuming Austin Hooper is far too pricey).

Ebron is a very athletic player but is one of the most frustrating players in the NFL. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the first round back in 2014, but hasn’t truly reached his potential. Sure, there are the seasons like 2018 where he had 750 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. There are also years like 2019 where he only had 375 yards and two touchdowns. If Green Bay is able to snag him in free agency, hopefully, they can get him closer to the 2019 price than the 2018 one.