Brandon Graham, Philadelphia Eagles agree to 1-year deal
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Brandon Graham wasn't lying when he said he wanted to play one more season with the Philadelphia Eagles.
On Saturday, the team announced it agreed to terms of a one-year contract with Graham, bringing the defensive end back for a franchise-record 15th season.
Graham has 73 sacks in a record 195 career games with the Eagles, including three sacks last season. The 35-year-old is a popular player in the locker room and in the Philadelphia community.
Graham helped clinch the franchise's only Super Bowl with a late strip sack of Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII, a 41-33 Eagles' win over the Patriots on Feb. 4, 2018.
In January, following the Eagles' loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild card round of the NFL playoffs, Graham said in the locker room he'd like to come back for one more year before hanging up his cleats.
"It'll be my farewell tour next year if the Eagles want to do it one more time, I'd would love to be here for another year because I know we got something special... I'll be done next year," Graham previously said.
Philadelphia drafted Graham No. 13 overall in the 2010 draft out of Michigan. He missed most of the 2022 season with a torn Achilles tendon but came back to post a career-high 11 sacks.
Graham's deal with the Birds must come as a sigh of relief to many Eagles fans, who are likely still mourning the official retirement of center Jason Kelce.
"I thought I was going to get another one with my guy, but it's all good because I am happy for him," Graham told CBS News Philadelphia following Kelce's retirement press conference earlier this month. "I feel like he is about to go kill it and do even more than he did on the field. That's really the goal for all of us — just to make sure that we all find that love and passion for what we are doing after the fact because we have been playing this game for so long."