It was a storybook ending for Philadelphia Eagles great Brandon Graham.
Graham, a first-round draft pick out of Michigan in 2010, announced his retirement from the Eagles after 15 seasons, following his second Super Bowl championship.
The veteran defensive end returned for the Super Bowl after tearing his triceps during the regular season against the Los Angeles Rams. Though he missed the remainder of the regular season, the Eagles’ playoff progression gave Graham crucial recovery time to suit up if they reached the ultimate stage.
They did, and Graham played 13 defensive snaps and recorded one tackle in Philadelphia’s 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. During the game, however, he re-tore his triceps.
Last month, Graham held an emotional press conference announcing his retirement after 15 seasons with the Eagles. But now, he appears to be leaving the door slightly open for a return.
Brandon Graham leaves door open for return
In an interview with Kay Adams on “Up and Adams,” Graham revealed he’s not completely committed to retirement.
“I’m 90 percent retired,” Graham told Adams.
He then explained his hesitation.
“How much I want to continue to train the way I’m training. I’m training to look good. Training for a game is different, but I haven’t really changed that yet. I just want to go out there and speed it up to where I wanna look good and make sure that I’m staying fit while I’m still rehabbing my arm and making sure that when I do retire, I’m staying in the habit of that, because a lot of guys tell me that when you leave, you’ve gotta stay in the habit of working out, doing what you do,” said Graham. “This is our first time really being off and not really having to train for anything.”
Brandon Graham says that he’s only “90 percent” retired and still training hard. 👀 pic.twitter.com/OawJ3teOYy
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) April 9, 2025
In a separate interview with Jason and Travis Kelce on their “New Heights” podcast, Graham revealed he was ready to play another season before a pivotal conversation with Eagles general manager Howie Roseman.
“I wanted to give it another run because I got hurt. And I was like, man, I got a whole bunch left that I can still do. I prayed before I had went in the day before and I was like, I’m gonna put it in his hands. If we don’t come to a good conclusion that we can do it again, I ain’t even going to fight it,” Graham said. “So when I walked in, he’s like, ‘BG, what do you wanna do?’ I said, ‘Man, what do you want me to do?’ He was like, ‘BG, this is such a fairytale ending, man. I can’t let you. I can’t let you man.’ And when he said, fairytale, I was like, all right, Lord, I’m done, I’m done. I didn’t even fight it after that.”
How close was @brandongraham55 to coming back for Year 16? 👀 pic.twitter.com/vWSzKrQJsb
— New Heights (@newheightshow) April 9, 2025
Despite his wavering, Graham added that he doesn’t truly see himself taking the field again.
“That 10 percent is just in case but I doubt it because I try to be a man of my word and I don’t want to play that back and forth stuff,” he told Adams.
In 206 games across 15 seasons, Graham recorded 76.5 sacks — third all-time in Eagles history. He earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2016 and made the Pro Bowl in 2020, cementing his legacy as one of Philadelphia’s defensive greats.
