Jimmy Graham’s brief career with the Green Bay Packers is likely going to end without the future Hall of Fame tight end ever taking advantage of what many assumed would be his biggest strength in Green Bay.

The idea was nothing if not intriguing. Give Aaron Rodgers a big, touchdown machine at tight end and the red zone touchdown passes would come pouring in. In March of 2018, it was easy to envision Rodgers and Graham, a prized free agent, dominating inside the 20-yard line, with Rodgers’ creativity in the scoring area providing the perfect point guard to match with Graham’s size and receiving ability in or near the end zone.

The connection never really got off the ground. As disappointing as Graham’s two-year run with the Packers has been, his lack of production in the red zone stands out as the biggest failure. Graham’s top strength as a player never resulted in any true impact.

Over 34 games playing with Rodgers, Graham caught exactly five touchdowns in the red zone (and five touchdown passes total). It wasn’t due to a lack of trying; Rodgers attempted 18 passes targeting Graham in the red zone between 2018 and 2019, including 11 inside the 10-yard line. He had chances. His conversion rate was low.

With the Seattle Seahawks in 2017, Graham caught a league-high 10 touchdown passes in the red zone, including eight inside the 10-yard line. It was an inefficient season overall for Graham, but he made a big impact in the scoring area. His saving grace never showed up in Green Bay.

For comparison’s sake, consider that running back Jamaal Williams caught as many touchdown passes during the 2019 season (five) as Graham had during his entire two-year career in Green Bay.

The Packers are expected to release Graham at some point this offseason, saving $8 million in cap space. The move will provide an unceremonious end to what can only be considered a bust signing from GM Brian Gutekunst. Projecting Graham and Rodgers to create fireworks in the red zone was easy. Actually producing the big scoring moments proved increasingly difficult for the veteran pair, creating the defining failure of Graham’s Packers career.