New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis has revealed that they are willing to use the franchise tag on tight end Jimmy Graham.

The deadline for assigning a franchise tag is not until March 3, and Loomis has already made it known that his preference would be to tie Graham down to a long-term contract instead.

However, he also expressed his desire to keep the two-time Pro Bowler at the club and said that they would use the tag on him if required.

"We're going to franchise him if that's necessary. We're a long ways from that. I don't know if it's worth discussing right now," Loomis told reporters.

"We're in the early part of the process, and obviously we want to have Jimmy back and he wants to be back. And so we just have to go through this process."

Should a franchise tag be used, it would have to be decided whether Graham is a tight end or a wide receiver.