Saints' Sean Payton optimistic about Jimmy Graham's shoulder

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton offered no specifics Thursday on the injured shoulder of tight end Jimmy Graham, but did say the team is optimistic about the situation. 

Graham suffered the injury in the Saints' Week 5 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that Graham is expected to miss two to three weeks, which would sideline him for Sunday's matchup against the Detroit Lions.

If Graham is unable to play, backups Ben Watson, Josh Hill and Tom Crabtree could see additional playing time.

"Obviously he's an important player to our offense, and no different than whenever all of a sudden you lose a player potentially to injury, the next guy's got to step up," Payton said Wednesday during a teleconference, according to the Detroit News. "And you've got to look at the touches I think specifically as to who's getting the ball third down, who's getting the ball in the red zone. 

"So we'll see how the week goes with him."