Brandon Graham Ready for OTAs, Sets Goal of 15 NFL Seasons
Brandon Graham understands he's closer to the finish line than the starting gun when it comes to his NFL career, but the architect of arguably the most important play in modern Eagles franchise history still has goals at the age of 34 and entering his 13th NFL season.
"I wanted to get to 15 [years]," Graham told JAKIB Media's Sports Take on Tuesday. "I just love this game. I can't lie."
Graham faces one of his biggest challenges in his attempt to return to form after a torn Achilles' that wiped out his 2021 season in Week 2.
A team leader who lights up the locker room and practices with his effusive personality Graham didn't regress to the background like a lot of injured players do, however. He remained a constant presence at the NovaCare Complex throughout his rehab and made sure to mentor the young talent tasked with picking up the slack.
By December, Graham was moving around nicely and is ready to go for voluntary work.
"I feel like I'm me again, if not better," Graham said. "I'm OTA ready. I'm going to be doing a lot of the same things with the team."
Spring work isn't what it once was in the NFL, though, and whether Graham has gotten his trademark explosion back will be defined later this summer in training camp.
"It's not what we used to do with the team reps and stuff, but it's going to be more individual," Graham said of the offseason plan. "Nothing really that's gonna tax you too much in the individual drills, but that's what we like doing."
The Eagles went through a relatively healthy season in 2021 after scrapping mandatory minicamp as a compromise to get as many players as possible in for voluntary work so the organization decided to double down on the approach post-pandemic even with restrictions loosening.
"I'm back to normal," Graham said.
For the veteran personally, it's about conditioning and getting as close to 100 percent for the summer prep period.
"It's about getting my lungs right," he said. "This offseason is pretty much the same. I'm off the protocol of just rehabbing every day. It's just more so training and getting my body right. I feel like I'm me. It's just about doing it now."
Graham is penciled in as part of an edge rotation that should include marquee free-agent acquisition Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, and the recently re-signed Derek Barnett.
The goal is a healthier pass rush after a 29-sack season for the defense, the second-fewest in the NFL.
Graham has never been known as a prolific sack artist himself, topping out at 9.5 in the team's championship season in 2017 in which he punctuated things with a strip-sack of Tom Brady late in Super Bowl LII.
In his last healthy season, though, Graham was a monster with eight sacks, 51 pressures, 16 quarterback hits, and two forced fumbles en route to a Pro Bowl berth.
So forget about any retirement talk.
"I know I'll have to deal with it when I have to deal with it," Graham admitted before revealing his plan. "I just want to carry out this year and play two more years after that. I want to get to 15 years, then I'll really consider it then."
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
