Eagles legend Brandon Graham is second-guessing his retirement decision

There was a buzz going around about the 37-year-old hanging up his boots after the 2024 season ended. Winning Super Bowl LIX was a welcome bonus and the perfect segway to finally retire. Graham spoke with the Eagles’ general manager, Howie Roseman , regarding his retirement.

I walked in, and [Howie Roseman] is like BG [Brandon Graham], what do you wanna do? I said, man, what do you want me to do? He was like, BG, this is such a fairytale ending. I can’t let you. I can’t let you man. And when he said, fairytale, I was like all right, Lord, I’m done. I didn’t even fight it.

Brandon Graham told the Kelce brothers

On March 18, Brandon Graham announced his retirement from pro football.

I gave everything I had in this, and I don’t have no regrets. That’s one thing I tell the young boys—don’t have any regrets… My entire life has been forever changed because of the magical place.

Brandon Graham thanked the Eagles organization. (H/T: Philadelphia Eagles official transcript)

Brandon Graham has left the door open for a return

Graham’s final four years were less than ideal. In week 2 of the 2021 NFL season, he suffered a torn ACL. An injury of that nature at his age always takes time to heal, but Graham kept pushing.

The Eagles adopted more of a protect-thy-player approach. Since the injury, Graham appeared in 27 games but started only four. It helped keep him injury-free until he tore his triceps in week 12. He recovered enough to be active for the Super Bowl in NOLA, but he tore the same triceps again, early in the final and watched his team destroy the Chiefs.

After bagging his second ring, he contemplated retirement, but at the same time, he felt something was missing. A personal satisfaction.

I wanted to give it another run. Because I got hurt. I got a whole bunch left that I can still do. I prayed the day before and I’m gonna put it in his hands. If we don’t come to a conclusion that we can do it again, I ain’t even going to fight it.

Brandon Graham told the Kelce brothers

Graham underwent surgery to fix his torn biceps.

Brandon Graham’s opinion on Tush Push

The tush push has been a point of contention in pro football for the last few years, even though the move’s existence dates back to Tom Brady’s heyday. The Eagles created their own version, which later became popular as the brotherly shove, and they are extremely good at it. So much so that several NFL teams pleaded with the league committee to ban it from the pro scene.

Although he never took part in the Eagles’ polarizing Tush Push routine, Brandon Graham has seen his team pull it off flawlessly countless times, in training and during NFL games. He’s in favor of keeping it legal.

It’s just a play that everybody knows is coming. And if we didn’t have the personnel for it, then of course y’all would stop it. But since you don’t have the personnel… [you can only hear other teams complain about it]. 

Brandon Graham told Up & Adams host Kay Adams

Graham appeared in a total of 206 games before retiring from the NFL with the Eagles. He recorded a total of 487 combined tackles, 76.5 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, and 11 pass deflections. If he decided to come back, then the Eagles would not think twice about giving him a veteran contract.