The Philadelphia Eagles made several acquisitions on the defensive side of the ball at and around the trade deadline. One of those moves was a reunion with then-retired defensive end Brandon Graham as the Eagles legend rejoined the franchise following the surprising in-season retirement of Za'Darius Smith.
While fans were thrilled to see Graham back in Philly green, the production from the veteran hasn't matched the enthusiasm the fan base had at the time of his signing. With Graham back in the fold, another pass rusher, Josh Uche, has been relegated to special teams duties, and with each passing week, it only seems clearer that the Eagles may need to cut Graham's usage moving forward.
Graham's Philly Reunion Is a Great Story but Uche Provides Eagles More
Through three games, Graham has yet to record a single defensive statistic. He does have three pressures, per Pro Football Focus, but none of them came in Week 12. This is problematic when the only meaningful thing that can be pointed to from Graham's performance in Philadelphia's stunning loss to the Dallas Cowboys was a crucial penalty, all because he wasn't quick enough to get off the field.
While the Eagles legend is not commanding a ton of snaps since his return to the active roster, he is playing above Uche, and the early returns make it seem like that is the wrong decision for this franchise to make. Over the last three weeks, Uche has not registered a single snap on defense, while Graham has been on the field for 26 defensive snaps. Given how productive Uche was early in the season, having him relegated to special teams duties is not doing him or the team any good.
No matter what he may offer in terms of a trusted veteran presence in the locker room and on the practice field, having Graham take up a spot on the active roster when he has yet to show any indication that he's capable of performing better than the players he has pushed out of the rotation is a reckless decision by both head coach Nick Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman.
Following their Week 12 loss to Dallas, along with their less-than-dominant performances against a pair of teams they could very well face in the postseason, in the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, Philadelphia is not in any position to be wasting roster spots on players who are not likely to contribute on the field.
This is not Major League Baseball; the rosters don't expand down the stretch, and with the Cowboys just two games behind the Eagles in the loss column, their path to an NFC East Championship and one of the top seeds in the conference doesn't look like as much of a given as it did this time a week ago.