Brandon Graham, Eagles reportedly agree to one-year contract

The Philadelphia Eagles are going to lose a lot of key players this offseason. Especially on defense.

One key defender who will NOT be departing Philly, however, is a fan-favorite and Super Bowl LII hero: Brandon Graham.

BG is signing a one-year, $6 million contract extension ahead of NFL free agency, according to a report from Tim McManus.

Here’s what Graham told ESPN about the deal:

“I definitely don’t want to miss out on this championship that we’re about to make a run for. I pretty much directed [my agent] Joel [Segal] just to get a deal done before free agency so I wouldn’t have to go through that part. I’m just so happy everything came to fruition. It wasn’t even about no money. It was more about wanting to be an Eagle as long as I could still play at a high level, and of course I still have a sour taste in my mouth on how things ended this last year [with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl].”

Graham re-upping with the Eagles was not totally unexpected. Earlier this week, Howard Eskin said BG would be staying in Philly. This despite the fact there was a report out there about Graham drawing interest from multiple teams, including the Cleveland Browns.

The feeling here is that the Eagles made the right call by re-signing Graham. And it’s not just about being sentimental.

Assuming his asking price is not way higher than reasonably expected, bringing Graham back should be an easy call. He’s obviously on the older side, yes, but he’s shown no signs of slowing. Graham just had a career season (11 sacks) despite coming off an Achilles injury. He plays a premium position and he can continue to give the Birds good pass rush production.

For context, Graham’s $6 million annual value ranks 39th among NFL edge rushers (via Over The Cap). The figure actually ranks less than Derek Barnett’s $7 million. He’s also just below Charles Harris at $6.5 million and tied with Samson Ebukam at $6 million. It’s just above Josh Allen’s rookie contract annual value at about $5.7 million.

Graham is an all-time Eagle and he’s earned the right to finish his career in Philly. It would’ve been a real big bummer to see the 2010 first-round pick playing for another team. Thankfully, that won’t be the case.