Brandon Graham was going to have offers in free agency, perhaps more lucrative ones than the one-year, $6 million deal he decided to ink with the Philadelphia Eagles. He didn’t care. It was never about the money.
Graham, a first-round pick of the Eagles in 2010, was willing to take a hometown discount to return to the only franchise he’s ever known. He has a chance to climb up to No. 2 on the Eagles all-time sack list with another double-digit sack season in 2023. He has a chance to continue his mentorship of Josh Sweat, Derek Barnett, Tarron Jackson, Milton Williams, and Jordan Davis.
More importantly, Graham has a chance to win a championship alongside Jalen Hurts. The latter was the biggest selling point coming off an improbable Super Bowl run that came up three points short of their desired goal. Maybe next year. Onward and upward.
“It wasn’t about the money. I love Philly,” Graham told ESPN’s Josina Anderson. “I don’t want to miss a championship with Jalen. Jalen is the man. I just told my agent make it happen.”
Remember those four words: “Jalen is the man.” The Eagles are about to empty their pockets and make him the face of the franchise for comments like these.
The @Eagles not only got their Captain on the field back, but they keep a leader in the community.
This video of @brandongraham55 meeting people he’s impacted with his charitable work will have you in tears. 💚 (via @Eagles)
Graham Teased His ‘Comeback’ After Super Bowl LVII
Graham teased his probable return to the Eagles during his post-game press conference after losing Super Bowl LVII. The wounds were still raw. The pain was still deep. However, the 34-year-old pass rusher poured his emotions out following a 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Brandon Graham and Nick Sirianni at the Maxwell Awards
Sirianni was given Coach of the Year
Graham was given a Humanitarian award
Plenty to celebrate with Graham coming back next year
#🥃
(Via Graham’s IG)
Graham told reporters that the entire locker room could feel and taste it, then he promised to come back stronger in 2023. Personally, he wanted to take another Super Bowl ride with Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts.
“It’s going to serve us next year,” Graham said. “Feel this sting because it definitely hurts. Boy, it stings. You can taste it. You can feel it. All we had to do was make a play on defense. We’re all together, but we know that it sucks that we couldn’t get off the field and make a stop for the offense, because the offense put us in a position. They just got us in the end.
“All credit goes to Kansas City. They had a great year. We’re just going to feel this one for a minute, but it will definitely make me stronger for this comeback.”
Darius Slay Trade: Contract Restructure?
The bombshell report that Darius Slay had requested permission to seek a trade shook Eagles fans to their core. The team is likely going to lose James Bradberry in free agency, so losing both their starting cornerbacks from 2022 would be a huge problem. But, the whole thing appears to be posturing leaked out by the Eagles’ front office. They need to clear cap space. Maybe Slay would be willing to restructure his contract.
Just looking at the way Howie Roseman structured Darius Slay’s contract it’s pretty clear he gave himself two choices to make when it came to 2023…
1. Post-June 1st move to save $17.5 million on the cap.
Or
2. Restructure and guarantee more money to an already 32-year-old CB.
Remember, he did it back in 2019 to create $9.14 million in cap space. If Slay wanted to restructure in 2023 then the two sides could discuss a mutually beneficial extension beyond that. Philadelphia is on the hook for $17 million in base salary for the 2023 season, plus a huge cap hit of $21.5 million (via Spotrac).
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Brandon Graham Has Priceless 4-Word Answer on Eagles Return