Eagles Pro Bowl defensive end Brandon Graham retires at age 36

Brandon Graham (Mr. Schultz, Wikimedia Commons)

According to Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports on Tuesday, Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham of Detroit, Michigan retired at the age of 36. Graham leaves his playing career as a Super Bowl champion, as he was part of the Eagles defense that won Super Bowl LIX, as Philadelphia defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. This past February in the NFL’s biggest game of the season, Graham had one solo tackle in 13 defensive snaps.

Graham played 206 games for the Eagles from 2010 to 2024. He had 487 combined tackles (359 solo tackles and 128 assisted tackles), 126 tackles for a loss, 153 quarterback hits, 11 pass deflections, 22 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries for 24 yards, one fumble recovery for a touchdown, and 76.5 sacks. Graham’s fumble recovery for a touchdown was for 16 yards and came in a 43-35 Eagles win over the Los Angeles Rams on December 3, 2017.

This past season, Graham did not play for over two months because of a triceps injury. However, he returned just in time for the Super Bowl. In 11 games, Graham had 20 combined tackles (15 solo tackles and five assisted tackles), six tackles for a loss, seven quarterback hits, 3.5 sacks, two pass deflections, and one forced fumble. The forced fumble and two pass deflections came in Eagles wins. The forced fumble came in a 37-17 Eagles triumph over the Cincinnati Bengals on October 27. The first pass deflection was on November 3 in a 28-3 Eagles win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the second pass deflection was in a 37-20 Eagles win over the Los Angeles Rams on November 24.

Graham was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2020. That year he had 46 combined tackles (35 solo tackles and 11 assisted tackles), 16 quarterback hits, 13 tackles for a loss, eight sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. One forced fumble came on October 22, 2020 in a 22-21 Eagles win over the New York Giants, and the other forced fumble and fumble recovery came on November 1, 2020 in a 23-9 Eagles win over the Dallas Cowboys.

The Super Bowl this year was one of two Super Bowls Graham won with the Eagles. The first came on February 4, 2018 in a 41-33 Eagles win over the New England Patriots. Graham had two quarterback hits, two solo tackles and one sack.