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Bengals kicker Shayne Graham is launching what is believed to be the first program by a current player to help retired NFL players address their medical needs.

Through the Shayne Graham Foundation and Mercy Health Partners, former players and coaches will be provided with a free package of health-care services.

The issue has gone national in recent years following reports of former players seeing delays in getting medical claims processed and approved.

Graham was joined at a presentation on Wednesday at the Mercy HealthPlex in Fairfield by two former Bengals, Hall of Fame offensive lineman Anthony Munoz, and kicker Jim Breech.

"It’s kind of a combination of something I’ve thought about for a long time and that is to give something meaningful to all the former NFL players and coaches and their spouses in the area," Graham said.

"Players do not have the health benefits to take care of the many health issues that everyone will face, not to mention when you have a brutal NFL career that wears and tears on your body and mind.

"I’m here to say and show what they meant to the game. I saw that it was a real opportunity to make a difference in the quality of life."

Breech and Munoz have been working on this issue for more than two years, and said they encountered their share of roadblocks until Graham and his foundation came aboard.

"All we ran into was loggerheads and we couldn’t get anywhere," Breech said. "We couldn’t get calls returned. We tried so many different resources and were going nowhere. Shayne had expressed an interest in doing things with former players and he stepped up."

Under the program, former players, coaches and their spouses will receive free health care screenings and nurse coaching. They will also receive free memberships to Mercy HealthPlex locations in Anderson, Fairfield and Western Hills.

The screenings will be held on Aug. 22 and 29. Following the afternoon’s formal presentation, Graham held a reception for players and their spouses Wednesday night to help them gain familiarity with the program.

"When you start a program like this, you would hope this would be the template for a national program," Munoz said. "Hopefully other health care partners and players can get involved. I would think and hope this sets the tone and it does take off nationally."

Said Graham: "It just happens to be the chance that this is the first one happening. There’s always that first person that does it and then everyone follows. I think a lot of us play through ignorance and not knowing what the people went through before us. You hear the battle stories but just don’t know the truth of it."

Wednesday also marked the deadline for the Bengals and Graham to agree to a multi-year contract. The deadline passed with no deal meaning Graham, who was designated as the team’s franchise player, has a one-year contract worth $2.483 million.