Brandon Graham Not Done? Eagles Legend May Go 1 More Year
When Brandon Graham re-signed with the Eagles, the thought was this would be his last year. His fellow Eagles veterans Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox called it a career, but Graham wanted to have 1 last go around. But he flat-out told us this would be his final year.
3 games in, and he is having a bit of a resurgent year. He is not racking up the stats, but he is probably their best Edge Rusher to this point, against the run and against the pass. He has 7 defensive pressures and 7 tackles. A big step up from the rest of the Edge Rushers. It led to him playing over 60% of the snaps in week 3.
Brandon Graham Teases A Return
That good play seems to have him feeling good. Because now he is less committed to retiring and is leaving the door open for another year. He talked to the media at his locker today and suggested he may return for go for a 16th year.
“Honestly, I’m going to stay ready just for one more year. Just in case if a situation popped up where it’s like, ‘OK, they need me.’ But right now I’m just trying to get through this year and enjoy it as much as I can.”
It is good to see him feeling good. But you do wonder if he is singing a different tune several weeks from now. At 36 years old, we can see if he can maintain the pace he is at. Fangio thinks he can, and talked about staggering those snaps so he stays fresh, but it feels like it will eventualy wear on him, we saw it wear on both Josh Sweat and Haason Reddick last year, and they arent 36.
For now, you have to love seeing Graham play well. Not just because it is good for the Eagles, but because Graham is an Eagles legend. He already has the record for most games played in franchise history, and he is 3 sacks away from moving into 3rd place on the All-Time Eagles sack list. He wont catch Trent Cole for 2nd place, and is miles away from Reggie White, but if he keeps playing this he should pass Clyder Simmons this season.
He needs 12.5 to catch Cole. Maybe he does get that if he plays a 16th season. He certainly looks like a guy right now who can get 6 or so sacks this season. It is unlikley, but now that a 16th season is a possibility, it is not impossible.
We will see if he still feels this way in a month. But right now, Brandon Graham is at least teasing us that this may not be his final season after all.