Brandon Graham is mulling a comeback, and one of his longtime Philadelphia Eagles teammates is ready to welcome him back with open arms.
Tackle Jordan Mailata spoke about Graham’s potential comeback and why he would love for the longtime Eagles defensive tackle to rejoin the team.
Graham, who spent his entire 15-year career with the Eagles before he retired after they won Super Bowl LIX, reportedly is considering coming out of retirement. He has reportedly talked with the Eagles about coming back — though Graham is also rehabilitating from a torn triceps muscle he sustained in the Super Bowl.
The Eagles Would Welcome Brandon Graham Back If He Came Out Of Retirement
According to NFL.com insiders Tom Pelissaro and Mike Garafalo, Graham’s unretirement has come up in the wake of Za’Darius Smith’s sudden decision to hang up his cleats last week.
Graham has been working for NFL Network as an analyst on “Good Morning Football” while trying to recover from his devastating injury sustained in the Super Bowl. According to Graham, some within the Eagles facility have been nudging him to make a comeback — especially since the team is 5-2 and, as expected, looking like a contender to repeat.
“I’m flattered, actually, that everybody [pushes him to] ‘Come on back, come on back,’” Graham said on his “Unblocked” podcast last week. “It’s pretty cool.”
So even though he initially played dumb about Graham’s unretirement, Mailata — who played against Graham for five years before Graham called it quits — would be on board.
âIf he were to come back, hell yeah,â Mailata said. âThatâs uncle right there. Uncle OG. Thatâs one of the most important pieces we had getting a Super Bowl last year. I think it would really just add depth again and that pop.â
Graham, who won two Super Bowls and ranks third on the team’s all-time sack list (76.5) and 14th all-time in tackles (359), could provide a lift whether he played or not, according to members of the Eagles defense.
“It would mean a lot,â linebacker Nakobe Dean said, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia. âIt would mean a lot. No matter if he comes back in any capacity. If he plays every snap or no snaps, it donât matter. The energy that BG brings is unparalleled. So just to have a guy like that in the locker room, it would be great.
“He can still ball, for sure.â
Nick Sirianni Was Mum On Brandon Graham’s Comeback
Though the topic of Graham’s return was floating around the Eagles locker room after their 28-22 win over the Minnesota Vikings that pushed them to a 1.5-game lead over the Dallas Cowboys atop the NFC East, coach Nick Sirianni wouldn’t take the bait when asked about Graham’s potential return.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve,” Sirianni said when asked about Graham’s potential return. “After a game on a game day, I don’t think we’d get into any roster moves right now or anything like that. We’ll see what happens.”
Still, Sirianni did acknowledge the work general manager Howie Roseman puts into helping the Eagles constantly improve.
“Howie does an unbelievable job there,” Sirianni said. “Howie’s so relentless. This team is relentless … on ways to get better.”
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