Eagles to bring back DE Graham for 15th season

Tim McManus, ESPN Staff WriterMar 9, 2024, 11:59 AM ET
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PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles and defensive end Brandon Graham have agreed to terms on a one-year deal, the team announced Saturday.

Graham, a first-round pick in 2010, will become the first player in franchise history to play 15 seasons with the team, passing a mark long held by Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik.

Graham, 35, set a personal high with 11 sacks in 2022 but declined to enter free agency last offseason, instead opting for a team-friendly one-year, $5 million contract to remain in Philadelphia.

Transitioning into more of a rotational role, he posted three sacks and six quarterback hits last season and recorded a sack and three tackles for loss in the Eagles’ wild-card playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Graham is the author of one of the most consequential plays in team history — a strip sack of Tom Brady that helped seal the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII win over the New England Patriots, giving Philadelphia its lone Lombardi Trophy.

The No. 13 pick out of Michigan in 2010, Graham dealt with injuries early in his career, limiting his production and leading to speculation that he would be a bust. He changed the narrative over the next decade-plus, however, accumulating 73 sacks, 120 tackles for loss and 146 quarterback hits while becoming a culture-setter and a locker room leader.

Graham has long said he wanted to play 15 seasons in the league — a goal now within his grasp.