Eagles edge rusher Brandon Graham retired last offseason only to reverse course and rejoin his longtime team in October. This year may not contain any such back-and-forth, as the 37-year-old is already talking about his plans to play in 2026.
“Hopefully we can win another [Super Bowl] in my last season coming up,” Graham said this week (via NBC Philadelphia’s Dave Zangaro), indicating that he will return for the 2026 season, his 17th in the NFL.
Graham has spent every year of his career in Philadelphia, which featured championships after the 2017 and 2024 seasons. He has logged 215 appearances (106 starts) with 79.5 sacks and 128 tackles for loss, though he only has 9.5 sacks and 12 TFLs in the last three years. In 2025, he appeared in nine games with a 19% snap share, the lowest of his career, but still chipped in three sacks, though the season did feature his worst grades from Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Graham’s current contract with the Eagles is set to void on June 3, per OverTheCap, giving the two sides plenty of time to agree on a new deal. Philadelphia let Jaelan Phillips walk in free agency, and though they signed Arnold Ebiketie to a one-year deal, they still need more depth off the edge. Their outside linebacker room is currently made up of Ebiketie, Nolan Smith, and Jalyx Hunt, along with Jose Ramirez, a 2023 sixth-round pick who has only appeared in four games, all in 2024 for the Buccaneers.
Keeping Graham around for another year would maintain some veteran experience in a relatively young group, and he only cost the team $2.44MM in 2025. He will likely receive a similar amount to return to the Eagles’ locker room as a key leader for a bounce-back effort in 2026 after last year’s disappointing first-round playoff exit.