7 Philadelphia Eagles who need to be offered extensions relatively soon
. Brandon Graham, defensive end. 55. player. 54. .
It’s difficult to state the Philadelphia Eagles need to move on from Brandon Graham now, isn’t it?
There are never any guarantees in the NFL. An unforeseen injury can change the course of a season. Unsung heroes can exceed expectations. Teams can perform better or worse than expected.
No one saw Brandon Graham‘s selection coming in 2010. Heck, we thought Philly traded up to land Earl Thomas. No one thought the length of his career would exceed Thomas’ when the Earl was busy crafting a Hall-of-Fame resume with the Seattle Seahawks.
It was difficult to imagine B.G. would enjoy more success in the second half of his career, that he’d wind up owning the most famous strip sack in Super Bowl history, and he’d rupture his Achilles in the second game of a season that followed the lone Pro Bowl campaign of his career. Here we are, and our beloved B.G. is still proving that he has a few more tricks up his sleeve.
The road back from that season-ending injury has been a long one, but Graham has returned to the top of his game. No, that isn’t true. This has arguably, when you take all things into account, the best season of Brandon Graham’s career.
13 games of a 17-game season are in the books, and he’s well on his way to another Pro Bowl nod and the first double-digit sack campaign of his career. Twice this season, he’s earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. He’s probably going to win the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year Trophy.
We’ve long known Philadelphia’s defensive line will look much different in 2023 than the current version, but ask yourselves this. With the season B.G. is having and with the accolades that are sure to follow, how on Earth do you, as the Eagles brass, shake hands next offseason and tell him you no longer need him, especially when you keep allowing Derek Barnett to stay on the roster?