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Tim McManus
PHILADELPHIA — Defensive end Brandon Graham sees “an opportunity of a lifetime” for this Eagles team, which factored into his decision to unretire and play a 16th season for the franchise.
Graham participated in his first practice back with the team Wednesday. He joked afterward that his golf game was getting good “but now that s—‘s over with.”
In reality, Graham, 37, had been going through what he called his own training camp for months. According to fellow edge rusher Joshua Uche, he and Graham worked out together with a member of the Eagles’ strength and conditioning staff dating back to the summer. Uche said he’d walk into the meeting room sometimes and see Graham watching film.
“He was training like a player the whole time,” Uche said.
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio teased Graham about a potential return at various points in the young season to “try and light the fire.” Things got serious when Za’Darius Smith suddenly retired last week, creating even more need for a thinned-out edge group that lost Josh Sweat in free agency and Nolan Smith to a triceps injury.
Graham exited the game in storybook fashion, returning from a triceps injury of his own to play in Super Bowl LIX in February — a decisive Eagles win that secured the team’s second Lombardi Trophy. The first, in Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots, was won in part thanks to Graham’s strip sack of Tom Brady in the closing moments.
But after talking things over with his wife, Carlyne, Graham decided to add another chapter after the “reality set in” that he still had the urge to play.
“When Tom Brady and all them boys came back, you still say he’s got seven rings. You still are going to tell the story. So it’s like, man, if I still feel like I can play, why not? And I feel like we’ve got a good team, too. If the team wasn’t as good, I’m sorry,” Graham said, suggesting he wouldn’t have returned.
“But I do feel like we have an opportunity of a lifetime right now with all these people on the team. [General manager] Howie [Roseman] has done a great job putting together this team and I just felt like I’ve still got a duty to come in and help since I feel like I still have a little juice left.”
There were some first-day-of-school moments Wednesday as Graham put the pads back on. He actually put too many pads on, donning game pants while the rest of the team was in shorts and sweatpants.
But his first practice went well overall, leaving Graham encouraged with Sunday’s home game against the New York Giants fast approaching.
“It felt good today,” Graham said, “I’ll just say that.”
Graham holds the Eagles’ record for most regular-season games played (206) and is third in franchise history with 76.5 career sacks. He made his lone Pro Bowl in 2020 and recorded his first double-digit sack season in 2022 with 11.