NFC Notes: Jimmy Graham, Eddie Goldman, Buccaneers, Falcons, Saints

Buccaneers

Buccaneers C Ryan Jensen tore his ACL, MCL, PCL, and meniscus before returning six months later to play against the Cowboys in the playoffs. It is worth mentioning that Jensen opted not to have surgery to repair any of the damage.

“It was a crazy road,” Jensen told Jenna Laine of ESPN. “Looking back, probably shouldn’t have played, but at the same time, it was one of the ones I wanted to go out there and help the team and be out there with my guys. And it was an honor to be able to be back out on the field, and obviously, with Tom [Brady’s] last game, it was an honor to play with him and suit up one more time. It was a mental battle. There were days when I just broke down and frankly just sobbed. It was tough. It was a tough year. But now, I think it’s grown me as a person, as a man, to be a better dad, a better husband.”

“I’m feeling good. Ligaments are healthy and healed and I’m just ready to keep rolling,” Jensen said about not undergoing surgery. “It’s somewhat no different than when you get surgery done on it. All those ligaments scar in and thicken up and get strength again. Obviously, there’s a lot of strength aspect within the quad and calf, stuff like that, to help with the stability in the knee. That’s been a huge focus this offseason, coming into the season, finding the right plan to maintain that strength and stability in the knee. The biggest thing for me is just going to work — going to work every day and attacking something that you’re passionate about.”

Falcons

• Falcons HC Arthur Smith on the potential return of DT Eddie Goldman, before later noting Goldman wouldn’t be with the team as he is once again considering retirement: “There’s a possibility. He looked phenomenal when he showed up the other day, but you never know what somebody is going through. We’ll have a final answer by tomorrow.” (Josh Kendall)

Saints

Now back with the Saints, TE Jimmy Graham said that he declined offers to join teams after leaving the Bears in 2021, hoping that he would be able to return to New Orleans for another season.

“For me, I have been trying to come home for a long time,” Graham said. “You know, last year I had some conversations, and determined that I really didn’t want to play anywhere else. I had a couple of teams reaching out, all teams that made the playoffs, I just couldn’t see myself wearing another jersey again. Just wanted — Hopefully, if there was ever an opportunity to come back home, to make it happen here, and it did, and I’m here now.”