Brandon Graham set to come out of retirement to rejoin the Eagles

PHILADELPHIA — Seven months after he gave a tear-filled speech announcing his retirement following 15 seasons with the Eagles, Brandon Graham is set rejoin the team, league sources told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Momentum toward a deal was building over the weekend, and league sources confirmed to The Inquirer Sunday that the wheels were on motion for Graham’s return to football.

Graham on Monday night posted on social media a teaser to a Tuesday morning announcement that he’ll make on his podcast, "Brandon Graham Unblocked." PHLY Sports, which hosts Graham’s podcast, said a deal was agreed to Monday.

Graham, 37, is the Eagles’ all-time leader in games played with 206, a number he will add to, and his 76 1/2 sacks rank third in team history. He returns to the Eagles at a time when they desperately need help at his position.

An already thin group of edge rushers took a hit last week when Za’Darius Smith abruptly retired from football. Then Azeez Ojulari went down with a hamstring injury during the first quarter Sunday in Minneapolis. Nolan Smith and Ogbo Okoronkwo are both on injured reserve with triceps injuries. Smith is due back, likely after the Week 9 bye week, but Okoronkwo’s season is over.

A reunion with the Eagles became more of a possibility as the injuries mounted, and Graham is a low-cost addition that adds depth and leadership to the defense. They still might make a move for another pass rusher. The rush had a stronger performance Sunday, with Joshua Uche earning his first sack of the season, but they have not consistently gotten to quarterbacks for impact plays.

The Eagles had an open spot on the 53-man roster and do not have to make a corresponding move after adding Graham.

It’s unclear how much ramp-up time Graham will need before he sees the field. The Eagles play Sunday at home vs. the New York Giants before hitting their bye week. They come out of the bye with a Nov. 10 "Monday Night Football" game in Green Bay.

Graham admitted he played better than he even expected last year during what was supposed to be his farewell tour of sorts. But his regular season ended when he suffered a torn triceps in a Week 12 win over the Los Angeles Rams, against whom he picked up his fourth sack of the season. It was possible at the time that Graham’s NFL playing career ended on the SoFi Stadium field, but he made a remarkable comeback to play in Super Bowl LIX.

Graham logged 13 snaps during the Eagles’ blowout win in New Orleans in February, but he also suffered a second torn triceps. His retirement life has featured his own podcast, "Brandon Graham Unblocked," and public appearances.

How impactful will he be on the field? That question doesn’t have a clear answer. The Eagles entered Sunday with just nine sacks, and only six teams had fewer. They got two more Sunday, one from an edge rusher, but lost another in the process. Graham might be more useful at the start against the run, helping to set the edge.

But players in the Eagles’ locker room Sunday, hours after reports surfaced that Graham’s reunion with the Eagles was possible, spoke more about his off-field presence.

Graham would bring “the juice, the energy, the vibe,” linebacker Zack Baun said. “He just lives his life with so much to give. Obviously his play as well. I thought last year, him retiring, he was at the point where he could still do a lot and still go out there and play and play well. But I think we miss his vibe in the locker room.”

Edge rusher Patrick Johnson, who has been with the Eagles since 2021, with a brief stop with the Giants last season, said he’d seen the rumors on social media. If Graham was to return, Johnson said he’d be a welcomed presence to his position group.

“He’s going to bring that spark that we need for sure and that leadership,” Johnson said.

Graham’s former locker stall was given to Za’Darius Smith, whose role with the Eagles was to include a veteran presence for a position group in transition. Smith was logging 26-plus snaps per game with the Eagles, and while the team probably won’t ask Graham to step into that kind of workload, at least not right away, they will ask him to step back into that stall and assume his typical off-field duties.

“BG is BG, man,” said defensive tackle Moro Ojomo, who leads the Eagles with three sacks. “He’s just an amazing guy. I love to be around that guy.

“Jeffrey Lurie said it last year, said it perfectly, that there are people that are energy takers and energy givers and BG is an energy giver, and I think we all feel that.”

As social media and sports radio chatter ramped up last week about a potential return, Graham tiptoed around the topic on his podcast last Wednesday.

“You’re always going to feel like you can do something,” he said. “You want people to grow, too, and right now it’s hard for some people. It’s hard, especially for the young guys.

“They got some battles that they got to fight, but if they do it together, they’ll be in a good spot.”

Now, he’ll be part of helping that happen.