Eagles

Brandon Graham Returns to Eagles on Three-Year Extension

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Mar 1st, 2019 · 9:50 AM EST

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Welcome back, Brandon Graham:

The #Eagles and DE Brandon Graham have agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/EDyWuotJbQ

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 1, 2019

No word yet on the dollar amounts, but for context BG earned $26,000,000 in his most recent contract, which was a four-year deal signed back in 2015. He hit the cap last season at $8 million and intimated a while back that he might agree to a hometown discount to remain in Philadelphia.

Graham’s return solidifies the defensive end position, with Derek Barnett returning from injury this summer. Next up for the Eagles is a decision on Tim Jernigan, who earns $13 million this year unless his contract is restructured. Personally, I would still use the 25th overall draft pick on a defensive lineman, since this is a deep d-line draft, and give Fletcher Cox and the rest of the unit some more rotational help.

From Eagles PR guy John Gonoude: 

Brandon Graham owns the 7th-most sacks (42.5) in franchise history and leads the team with 61 tackles for loss and 12 forced fumbles since 2014.

I’ll throw this one in there:

BG also forced the fumble that won the Eagles their first Super Bowl ever.

He turns 31 in April, so this contract will carry him likely to the end of his career. He’ll wrap it up as a Bird.

Edit: dollar amounts –

Early indications are that Brandon Graham’s new deal is worth about $40 million, which would put the average per year around $13 mil.

— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) March 1, 2019

Hmm, gotta see what the guaranteed dollars look like. Something in the $13 million range would make him one of the five highest paid Eagles, up there with Lane Johnson, Alshon Jeffery, Jason Peters, and Zach Ertz. With Carson Wentz getting his inevitable deal sooner rather than later, things might look a little tight at the top.

Still, when you look at the NFL’s highest-paid 4-3 edge rushers, there are something like 10 guys making more money than $13 million AAV. It would have been interesting to see what Graham garnered in the free agent market.