Crushing Injury Update Could Cause Eagles Legend to Reconsider Retirement

Sunday night's win over the Los Angeles Rams is going to bring some serious mixed emotions for Philadelphia Eagles fans. Philly advanced to 9-2, knocking down a potential NFC Wild Card team with a blowout performance. Saquon Barkley had an all-time game. Jalen Hurts looked great, as usual. The defense continued to roll. This would usually be a celebratory victory Monday.

Instead, it feels a little more like a time to mourn. Fans who stayed up late to catch the immediate post-game update found out pretty quickly, but those who didn't are learning on Monday that an Eagles legend is done for the season.

The franchise's all-time leader in games played, Brandon Graham, announced that he is out for the season with a torn tricep. And this injury could mean more than just being out for the year. After all, he talked all offseason about how this was going to be his final NFL season. But suddenly, that doesn't seem so certain.

First, consider that it only took Graham about one month of the season to start walking back some of those retirement comments. And then just listen to the interview he gave at his locker. He's already planning to get back onto the sideline and to practices to help lead this team for the rest of the season in any way he can, and he flatly refuses to address potential retirement discussion at the end of the interview.

Admittedly, even if he was certain that he was retiring, he's not going to break that news in an emotional state during a mid-season interview. BG is way too much of a pro to cause a locker room distraction like that. It would be wildly out of character.

But when you factor in his comments earlier this season? He was quoted as saying “Honestly, I'm going to stay ready just for one more year, just in case if a situation popped up where it's like, ‘OK, they need me.’"

Will the Eagles truly need him next year? Probably not. This young defense is shaping up to be terrific for years to come. But even at 36 years old, Graham continues to play well and earn a legitimate role thanks to his play, not his reputation. His 75.7 overall grade on PFF ranks No. 5 among qualifying Eagles defenders and puts him 20th out of 114 ranked edge defenders. Notably, it puts him ahead of any other Eagles EDGE, with Josh Sweat at 73.3, Nolan Smith at 69.1 and Bryce Huff at 68.9.

Combining that with the obvious value he brings as a leader in the locker room, and his presence would certainly be a boon for the Eagles. Going out with an injury would be a tough sendoff for a team legend, and if Graham feels up to the task he should absolutely be welcome back on the roster next year.

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