At the start of training camp, the Philadelphia Eagles announced that their new pass rusher Jonathan Greenard was dealing with an injury and could miss multiple weeks.
Right away, fans started pointing at the veteran Brandon Graham, as he could be a valuable temporary addition. While some reporters suggested Graham could get a call, the Eagles went through the entire preseason without adding Graham.
Greenard is still injured and could potentially miss Week 1 against the Washington Commanders. However, the Eagles don’t seem to be making a move for Graham just yet. However, that’s not due to a lack of trying.
NFL Rumors Suggest Graham Landed An Offer
“My understanding is that the Eagles made an offer, but it was near the veteran minimum,” the Philly Voice’s Jimmy Kempski wrote.
“I don’t think BG is trying to break the bank by any stretch, but he also doesn’t want to play for veteran minimum-like money. So I think that’s where the impasse is. BG said during the summer that if he were going to play this year, he would have liked to been able to ramp his body up in training camp.”
Obviously, Graham didn’t get a chance to ramp up in training camp for the second year in a row. Last offseason, Graham retired from the game, but felt the urge to return; he saw the Eagles starting to lose depth on the defensive line.
The veteran pass rusher didn’t play a ton of snaps when he returned, but he was a positive in-season addition. In nine games, Graham made eight tackles and 3.0 sacks.
“I don’t necessarily think that there’s a zero percent chance that he’ll back, even if it’s not on his terms,” Kempski added. “But the Eagles do seem to feel OK about their D-line depth, so I think it would take some combination of injuries for that to happen.”
At the end of the preseason, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman didn’t have a real update on Greenard’s setback, but he suggested that the veteran could be back sooner rather than later.
Brandon Graham Lately
The 38-year-old hasn’t been a full-time starter for the Eagles in quite some time.
Even during his 2024 season, Graham was in the rotation, but an injury caused him to play in just 11 games. He missed a chunk of the regular season, and most of the playoffs. Graham returned for the Super Bowl, but re-injured himself during the game. After the Super Bowl victory, Graham took some time off before calling it a career.
The veteran edge has 215 games of experience under his belt. During his career, which started in 2010, Graham racked up nearly 500 tackles and 79.5 sacks.