Philadelphia Eagles’ Brandon Graham Suffers Potentially Career-Ending Injury

Brandon Graham of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates a sack during the second quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on Nov. 24 in Inglewood, Calif. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

The Core Four of the Philadelphia Eagles—Jason Kelce, Fletcher Cox, Lane Johnson and Brandon Graham—was cut in half this offseason when Kelce and Cox retired. It was poised to be further reduced when, before the season, Graham announced that he would retire after the 2024 NFL season. However, it appears that Johnson won’t have to wait that long to be the last of the four left standing, as Graham suffered a season-ending triceps injury in the Eagles’ 37-20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 13.

The injury came in arguably Graham’s best game of the season as he had a sack, two tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and a pass deflection—with each of those setting or tying season highs for the 15-year vet. All 15 of those seasons have come in an Eagles’ uniform, which ties a franchise record, and his 206 games in Kelly Green rank first in franchise history.

With all of those games has come thousands of snaps, and the defensive end knew something was off immediately when the injury happened. He said it came on a passing play when a running back helped chip-block on him, probably because of how effective he had been all game in generating pressure.

“I’ve been dealing with my triceps anyway, just from pushing people, you get a little tendonitis. But this time it was different. He hit me, and it stung a little longer. When [medical personnel] tried to examine me, I knew something wasn’t right,” Graham told reporters before noting that he then called his wife to break the news to her and that his kids were crying afterwards.

Graham will finish the year with 11 games played, 3.5 sacks, and 20 tackles, with the sacks and tackles already more than he had all of last season across 17 games. For his career, he’s logged 76.5 sacks, which ranks third in franchise history behind Reggie White (124) and Trent Cole (85.5). He made one Pro Bowl and was a one-time All-Pro selection, but he’s best remembered for authoring the strip sack on Tom Brady late in Super Bowl LII that essentially sealed the Eagles’ only Super Bowl championship.

However, there could be a plot twist in this story, as even though Graham publicly announced his intent to retire at season’s end, he didn’t seem as committed to actually doing that after learning of his season-ending injury.

“I don’t wanna go out like this, but if it’s pointing towards that, we’ll see,“ Graham said Sunday. ”I don’t know what the team’s going to be feeling at that time, but I know, for me, I don’t wanna go out like this. I definitely want to be able to finish a whole season before I’m done. But if that ain’t in the cards, I’m content where I’m at too.

“Let’s see how rehab goes, and then we’ll go from there. Me and my teammates, we talked, and I told some of them, ‘If I can make it happen [and return next year], then I definitely want to make it happen.’ But, if not, I’m cool too.”

Graham signed a one-year deal in March that expires after this season, so the Eagles would have to want him back for Graham to run it back one more season. He certainly wouldn’t be the first athlete who reneged on a planned retirement after a season-ending injury cut that final year short. Wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. did it in 2015 after tearing his Achilles’ tendon midway through what he said would be his final year, only to then return in 2016. In baseball, Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera had a similar about-face in 2012 after tearing his ACL, only to return for one final year in 2013.

Before the Eagles can look forward to 2025 and if Graham factors into their plans, they are focused on 2024 and replacing his production. While this may not be a career-ending injury for Graham, it is still a season-ending injury, and it comes at arguably the least opportune time for Philadelphia. Two days before the injury, the team placed fellow defensive end Bryce Huff on injured reserve due to wrist surgery, which is expected to sideline him for most, if not all, of the rest of the regular season. So the team has lost two of its four-man rotation at edge rusher in a matter of days.

The only players at the position left on the active roster are starters Nolan Smith and Josh Sweat, as well as third-round rookie Jalyx Hunt, who played sparingly prior to Huff’s injury. So the Eagles will have to make personnel moves as they enter the stretch run of their 2024 season and several tough December matchups, including road tests at the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Commanders, as well as a home game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.