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Brandon Graham Announces His Retirement (Again)

Matt Schultz

By Matt Schultz

Published:

Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

For the second (and presumably last) time, Brandon Graham announced his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday morning:

“I’m officially done. Y’all hearing it from me first… But lemme tell you this: they (the Eagles) are in great hands. I mean, Jordan Davis, I’m telling you, like, he is a guy that’s gonna get the defense going. I mean, the offense, you know, I can’t wait to — for Jalen to prove them haters wrong as always, and get us back to the promised land. And um — yeah, I’m gonna still be around. I’m still, still around. Still, uh, giving wisdom, helping the guys, cause of course it’s an adjustment for me, but it’s a great adjustment cause, I mean, it’s all about my kids and my family, trying to make sure I’m there for that, and making sure that we — just spreading the love everywhere.”

Graham first announced his retirement after the Eagles’ 2025 Super Bowl win, then decided to come back for one more run in October of last season. He played nine games before the Birds were bounced by the Niners in the Wild Card round. Graham was rumored to possibly come back for one final season in 2026, but it seems like there wasn’t a clear spot for him on the roster with Jalyx Hunt, Nolan Smith, Jonathan Greenard, Arnold Ebiketie, and A.J. Epenesa all vying for snaps as edge rushers.

Instead, the 38-year-old Eagles legend is opting to hang up the cleats, closing the book on one of the greatest Philadelphia football careers ever. Some highlights worth mentioning:

  • Brandon Graham played 16 seasons as an Eagle, which makes him the longest-tenured player in franchise history.
  • His 215 regular season games played is also the most in franchise history.
  • His 128 tackles for loss is an Eagles record.
  • He’s third in franchise history with 79.5 career sacks, behind only Reggie White (124) and Trent Cole (85.5).
  • He’s second in franchise history in both forced fumbles (23), behind Brian Dawkins (25), and QB hits (156), behind Fletcher Cox (173).
  • Across 13 career playoff games, he totaled 5.5 sacks, 6 tackles for loss, and 2 forced fumbles — most notably the game-sealing 4th-quarter strip-sack of Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII. This moment is permanently etched into all of our minds, of course, but it’s fun to watch the clip again anyway:

Beyond the stats, Brandon Graham was one of the great leaders and locker room guys in the NFL.

Everyone loves him, he brought the juice week in and week out for the better part of two decades, and he was an all-time, iconic shit-talker:

It’ll be a bummer not to have him on the team anymore, but if anyone’s earned a long, relaxing retirement spent with family, it’s Brandon Graham. The guy emptied the tank for the Eagles over 16 years and helped bring the fanbase two Super Bowls. That’s about as good as it gets.

Thanks for everything, BG. One more for the road:

Matt Schultz
Matt Schultz

Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…) email: M.Schultz@sportradar.com

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