Brandon Graham Returns to Eagles on One-Year Deal
The longest-tenured athlete in Philadelphia will not be entering NFL free agency.
Brandon Graham is returning to the Eagles for his 14th NFL season, confirming to ESPN that he will be signing a one-year deal worth up to $6 million for the 2023 campaign.
"I definitely don't want to miss out on this championship that we're about to make a run for," Graham told ESPN. "I pretty much directed (my agent) Joel (Segal) just to get a deal done before free agency so I wouldn't have to go through that part. I'm just so happy everything came to fruition."
Graham, 34, was very effective in a rotational role for the Eagles' No. 2 ranked defense last season, amassing a career-high 11 sacks while playing in just 43% of the defensive snaps, his lowest total in a non-injury season since 2014.
As the third man on the edge during a franchise-record 70-sack season, Graham fit it nicely behind Haason Reddick (16 sacks) and Josh Sweat (11) as the Philadelphia pass rush came at opposing quarterbacks in waves.
Graham, who missed the majority of the 2021 season with a torn Achilles, was graded as the fifth-ranked edge player in the NFL behind only stars like Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons, Nick Bosa, and Maxx Crosby.
It was the eighth time that Graham had finished among the top-10 edge rushers in the PFF era, an amazing turnaround from early in his career when many considered him a bust as the 13th overall pick in the 2010 draft, immediately ahead of Earl Thomas and Jason Pierre-Paul.
Graham has stated he wants to play 15 seasons and wants to finish where he started with the Eagles.
Rumors of Cleveland being interested, which were tied to Jim Schwartz becoming the defensive coordinator there, were never going to come to fruition unless Philadelphia showed no interest.
A team leader and captain, Graham's influence in the locker room also can't be understated.
"It wasn't about the money. I love Philly," Graham told CBS' Josina Anderson. "I don't want to miss a championship with Jalen (Hurts). Jalen is the man. I just told my agent make it happen."
Graham has appeared in 178 career regular-season games for Philadelphia and if he can stay healthy next season, the veteran will surpass David Akers (188) for most in franchise history.
His 70 career sacks are No. 4 in team history and he could make a run at Clyde Simmons (76) at No. 3 next season. Reggie White (124) and Trent Cole (85.5) are the top two.
Graham, though, did accomplish what those others never could, a Super Bowl LII championship and his strip sack of Tom Brady is arguably the most important play in franchise history.
-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 "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
