Eagles Legend Returning For Super Bowl LIX

It didn't seem possible he would play again this season after suffering an injury, but he's back to play against the Kansas City Chiefs in what will be the third Super Bowl of his career.

Feb 5, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham speaks with the media during a press conference at Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

NEW ORLEANS – It might be his last game. It might not.

The bottom line is Brandon Graham will at least play one more game with the Eagles, something that didn’t seem possible when he tore his triceps days before Thanksgiving. And it will be the biggest game of all, and not because, as players and coaches like to say, it’s the next one. Nope, it’s because it’s the Super Bowl.

Graham will play against the Kansas City Chief in Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome after the Eagles activated from injured reserve on Saturday, just over 24 hours before kickoff. The team placed reserve offensive lineman Nick Gates on IR with a groin injury that cropped up on Thursday and elevated fullback Khari Blasingame and linebacker Nichola Morrow from the practice squad.

After suffering his injury on Nov. 24 in a win over the Los Angeles Rams, Graham said he was done for the season, and there was talk that maybe, just maybe, he would return for Year 16, because going out the way he did was no way to go at all.

“Everybody played a role in this,” said Graham about his return. “You have to be able work in the training room, in the weight room, and that played a huge part in how I came back. You can’t have one without the other.

“It’s a good group of people to work with. You have to hold yourself accountable, but at the same time you don’t want to let them down. Nobody wants to be in there, but if you want to be available on the field that’s where you have to be.”

Graham said at one point earlier this year when asked if this could be his final season, all things considered, that “Hey, I’m not going to leave any money on the table.”

Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Brandon Graham talks at his locker and feels he could be ready to go in Super Bowl LIX despite tearing a triceps on Nov. 24. / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

That might indicate that if the Eagles want him back for one more year, and are willing to pay him enough to entice him, he could return. He returned this season – Year 15 - on a one-year deal worth $5 million and called it his farewell tour.

It may very well be that, especially if the Eagles beat the Chiefs and give Graham his second Super Bowl ring. Even more especially if Graham does something huge in the game – like a strip sack of KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes, for instance – to turn the tide in Philly’s favor, just like he did when he strip-sacked the Patriots’ Tom Brady late in the Eagles Lombardi-winning season of 2017.

"Oh, he's a beast," said Kansas City pass rusher George Karlaftis. "He's been doing this for a long time. He's a guy that's very well respected for his play on the field, but also off the field. His leadership you can tell he's a great leader and a great teammate, and this is from afar. His body of work speaks for itself. Heck of a player. Heck of a career."

The only chance Graham had to return - and perhaps put a bow his career - was if the Eagles made the Super Bowl, and they did.

“The biggest thing I would say about him? How much love he actually has for the Eagles organization and the city of Philadelphia,” said Saquon Barkley, a teammate of Graham’s for only one season. “You can really see that. You can see it when he's talking about it and he gets emotional. 

“That was kind of the key thing for us. When we had the opportunity to get to the Super Bowl, he had the opportunity to play. That was just another thing added on for us to get to the Super Bowl. Whether it's his last game or not, we wanna see him go out there and put on that Eagles uniform and play for the city he loves so much.”

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