When news broke that the Philadelphia Eagles were getting back Brandon Graham for Week 8 against the New York Giants after a short but sweet taste of retirement, it got fans hyped.
After saying goodbye to three major Super Bowl contributors on the defensive line, the Eagles were looking borderline decimated at defensive end following Za'Darius Smith's retirement plus injuries to Nolan Smith, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, and Azeez Ojulari in Weeks 3, 4, and 7, respectively. The return of Graham, even if he takes a little bit to get going, should help the Eagles in more ways than one, as his undeniable personality should at worst add some energy to a unit that has looked lifeless at times in 2025.
But how did BG's return come about? Well, some of it might come down to good old-fashioned teasing, with Vic Fangio noting he frequently gave Graham a hard time for retiring when he still had something left in the tank, which eventually played a part in broking the veteran rusher down.
“Well, all the way from the start I was teasing him not to retire all the way back to last February or March,” Fangio told reporters on Tuesday. “So yeah, I mean I’ve run into him, we’ve talked when he’s come by. I always tease him about it to try and light the fire.”
Asked how much fans should expect to see of Graham in Week 8 against the Giants, Fangio admitted he can't really say for certain, as he was thoroughly unprepared for how many snaps Khalil Mack would play in his debut with the Chicago Bears.
“I don’t know. Now he’s coming out of retirement and he’s older,” Fangio noted. “But when I was in Chicago, we traded for [Chargers LB] Khalil Mack who had missed the entire training camp and the fatigue police said, ‘Hey, he can only play about 20-22 snaps in this game’, because we got him the week of the first game. I said, okay. He played about 45, so I don’t know.”
What will Graham look like in 2025 when he returns? Will he be able to play at a high level once more, or will he take some time to look like his former self? While only time will tell, after a string of bad luck, the cavalry is coming to the NovaCare Center, which, when coupled with a big win in Minnesota, is good news indeed.
