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Rod Graves

General Manager

Biography

Rod Graves is entering his 15^th season with the Cardinals organization after joining the team in 1997 as the Assistant to the President. He was promoted to Vice President, Football Operations in 2003 and was named General Manager in 2007. In February of 2010, he was rewarded for his role in shaping the team into back-to-back division champions when he received a contract extension through 2013.

That past summer, Graves and the Cardinals received acclaim for being one of the most aggressive and proactive NFL teams following the new labor agreement. In the first week, they acquired more than 50 new players including new QB Kevin Kolb via trade and before the month was out had signed all-pro WR Larry Fitzgerald to a new eight-year contract.

Graves, 52, is responsible for all facets of the Cardinals’ football operations. He has provided leadership in hiring, planning, budgeting, player acquisitions, negotiations, and scouting. Graves has represented the Cardinals on a number of NFL committees and currently serves on the board of directors of National Football Scouting, Inc. and National Invitational Camp, Inc. (Indy Combine). In June of ’08, Graves was named to the NFL’s new General Managers Advisory Committee, an 11-member group that provides recommendations and other feedback to the league’s Football Operations Department. He also serves on the league’s CEC Executive Working Group.

As Cardinals G.M., Rod has been particularly successful building the team through the NFL Draft and free agency. Of the 22 Cardinals starters at the end of the 2010 season, 12 were draft choices of the team during Graves’ tenure while one other starter joined the team as an undrafted rookie free agent.

One of the league’s longest-tenured personnel decision makers, Graves is also one of five African American general managers in the NFL, joining Baltimore’s Ozzie Newsome, Houston’s Rick Smith, Detroit’s Martin Mayhew and the Giants Jerry Reese.

In February of 2011, Graves received the Paul “Tank” Younger Award from the Fritz Pollard Alliance. The annual honor is given to an individual who displays outstanding work, on and off the field, in leveling the playing field for minorities in the NFL. Graves was the second Cardinals executive to win the award in the last two years as owner Bill Bidwill was honored in 2010.

Consistent with the Cardinals efforts to become champions in the community, Rod and his wife Dreama, devote their time and resources to supporting Cardinals Charities, The United Way, and The American Diabetes Association.

A native of Houston, TX, Rod began his career in professional football in 1982 as a regional scout for the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League. He joined the National Football League in 1984 as a regional scout for the Chicago Bears, a position he held until promoted to director of college scouting in 1993. He was promoted in 1994 to director of player personnel.

Rod is a graduate of Texas Tech University. He is also the son of the late Jackie Graves, former player personnel executive of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Rod and Dreama reside in Phoenix with their three children: daughters, Brittany & Taylor, and son, Joshua.

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