Brandon Graham may reconsider whether this is his final NFL season, as Year 15 won’t end the way he liked. Graham admitted to reporters in the locker room he tore his triceps in the second half of the Philadelphia Eagles‘ 37-20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams, and will be out for the season.
“I trust God, so I’m just enjoying myself,” Graham said, via a team transcript. “I’m about to enjoy this little rehab and I’m about to enjoy leading this team the rest of the year. As soon as I can be out there I’m going to be out there.
“Man, boy, man, boy, I was having fun out there. And we’re still gonna have fun. But I’m out for the year.”
Graham, 36, is coming off a historic night in Eagles franchise history as he passed Clyde Simmons for third on the franchise’s all-time sack list. The only player in Eagles franchise history to play 15 seasons with the franchise, Graham finished with a sack, three quarterback hits, and two tackles for loss in the win. He now has 76.5 sacks for his career, a half-sack ahead of Simmons for third in franchise history. Only Reggie White (124) and Trent Cole (85.5) have more.
“I was feeling good,” Graham said. “I hated it to go like this, but at the end of the day I don’t have any regrets. I put it all in today like I do every week. We’ll go from here. I’m hoping we’re holding that trophy regardless.
“Like I say, I’ll do my part as far as being a captain. The mission is still the mission. I’m still gonna be me. I’m still gonna have fun, I’m still gonna talk my stuff. I’m done, but they better know somebody’s coming right behind me.”
The No. 13 overall pick by the Eagles in the 2010 draft, Graham has been a mainstay on the Philadelphia defense and made one of the biggest plays in team history when he got the strip sack on Tom Brady late in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LII, helping the franchise win its first Super Bowl.
With Graham out for the year, is he now contemplating returning for a 16th season? Graham has called this season his “farewell tour” in the past, but left the door open for a potential return in the aftermath of Sunday night’s injury.
“I don’t wanna go out like this but if it’s pointing toward that, we’ll see,” Graham said. “I don’t know what the team will be feeling at that time, but for me, I don’t wanna go out like this. I definitely want to be able to finish a full season before I’m done, but if that ain’t in the cards, I’m content where I’m at, too.
“I’m like let’s finish this, see how rehab’s going, and we go from there. I know me and my teammates we talked and I told them, like, hey, if I can make it happen, I definitely want to make it happen. But if not, I’m cool too.”
