Bears' Jimmy Graham Opens Up on March Car Crash: 'I Just Knew It Wasn't My Time'

Chicago Bears tight end Jimmy Graham spoke with ESPN's Jeff Dickerson about the single-vehicle rollover crash he was involved in on Thursday, March 4 in Miami, saying among other things that he "just knew it wasn't my time."

Graham, who walked away uninjured, provided comments on Zoom.

"I was on the turnpike, and I saw a cop going kind of down this off-ramp with his lights off, he was reversing, so I got over two lanes and the sun is kind of coming up. So as I'm going over [a] hill, I look up and there is a disabled vehicle in the center lane, and I'm going about 90 mph. Probably about 15 yards away [from the disabled car], I swerved to the left and barely missed him, but I was headed for a bridge so I kind of had to make a last-minute decision, so I decided to turn right and flip it to avoid jumping that [bridge].

"I ended up rolling—the cop said four times—and skidded on the roof for about 100 yards. It was a wild one."

After the crash, Graham thanked police officers and first responders for their efforts.

Graham's dog, Ginger, was also in the crash and walked away injured as well. The ex-University of Miami Hurricane also noted how lucky he felt too.

"I was talking to the cop, right after the accident, and talking to my mechanic, and it really felt like a game. Everything was really slow. I can remember making every decision. I can actually remember my phone floating up in the air—I could see the time. I just knew it wasn't my time. I was like there is no way I'm going die over something this stupid.

"But obviously I was extremely lucky."

The 34-year-old Graham is entering his 12 NFL season. He's played with the New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers and now the Bears. The five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro had 50 catches for 456 yards and eight touchdowns in 2020.