Eagles’ Brandon Graham is ‘sad’ and ‘sick’ over his season-ending injury but noncommittal on his future
Graham, 36, won't rule out another season of football, and continues to remain optimistic despite his season likely being over. “We’re just going to attack this thing," Graham said on 94.1 WIP.
Brandon Graham and his smiling, bearded face are synonymous. Consult the official Philadelphia Sports Thesaurus. It’s right there.
Graham, the affable, longest-tenured member of the Eagles, has come to be defined by his positive attitude — on the field, in the locker room, and when engaging with the community away from the facility and stadium.
There he was again Monday night, back for another installment of his weekly radio appearance with 94.1 WIP at Chickie’s and Pete’s in South Philadelphia. There were plenty of smiles, and Graham even joined some of the dozens of fans in attendance in some Eagles cheers. But Monday wasn’t a normal radio hit. Less than 24 hours earlier, Graham was dealt a crushing blow, a torn triceps that will end his season and could end his playing career.
He fell asleep on the overnight flight home from Los Angeles and woke up when the plane landed.
“I woke up from the plane ride, woke up … ‘Damn, this ain’t no dream,’” Graham told The Inquirer. “This is real.”
» READ MORE: Eagles’ Brandon Graham says he suffered a season-ending triceps injury
There will be a balancing of emotions ahead for Graham, a 15-year NFL veteran who helped deliver the Eagles their lone Super Bowl win in 2018. He will stay mostly positive, as is his nature. He will “be of service” to his teammates and continue to lead them as the captain of a team with Super Bowl aspirations. But there will be and is some sadness to manage.
Graham had turned back the clock this season. He was the highest-graded Eagles player during Sunday’s win over the Rams, according to Pro Football Focus. A supposed farewell tour had turned into perhaps something different. But that was stopped in its tracks when Graham was chipped by a Rams running back and felt something in his elbow area. He initially thought it was fine. He still has plenty of movement and mobility in his left arm, but there were certain movements that caused pain. A trainer, Graham said, whispered to him on the sideline that he thought Graham’s triceps was torn.
And while Graham was his normal positive self in the SoFi Stadium locker room when he delivered the news to reporters, he knows what’s ahead.
“I think you just got to be honest,” Graham said. “I’m sad. I was sad today. I’ve been sick. But a couple people put some stuff in perspective for me today that made me snap back into it. It’s OK to deal with it, but just don’t be there too long where it takes over.”
Graham said he will likely have surgery “hopefully next week.”
“Once I get surgery, I think I’ll be a lot better because then I can count down the days until I’m better,” he said. “It’ll give me something to look forward to.”
Graham didn’t make any news Monday on his radio show. He said some of the same things he said Sunday night in Los Angeles. He won’t rule out a return to football next season. He talked with his wife, Carlyne, about the next steps. He said he also spoke with San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who suffered a similar injury in September.
“We’re just going to attack this thing,” Graham said on 94.1 WIP. “I ain’t ever ruling out nothing. But if I had to go out on a game like that … the game don’t owe me nothing, and I feel like I don’t owe the game nothing.”
At one point, some of the fans at Chickie’s yelled “one more year” at Graham.
» READ MORE: Eagles players and fans pay tribute to Brandon Graham after what could be his last game
“It’s definitely in my mind for sure to work,” he said. “But I want to see what it looks like as far as how I’m rehabbing, how I’m training. Every year is different. I know how I’ve been playing this year. We worked so hard to get to this point.”
Among the Eagles fans who showed up Monday night were Cheryl Booth and Jill Lowe of Wallingford. The friends typically plan to attend one of Graham’s shows every year, and had already picked out Monday before Sunday’s injury. They kept tabs during the day Monday to make sure Graham was still attending.
“This was meaningful,” Booth said. “I’m so upset that he got hurt, and I’m curious to know if he’s going to come back next year. He’s so positive, though. How can you not get behind him?”
Booth went to bed before Graham delivered the news to reporters in the locker room, but Lowe said she had a bad feeling when she saw Graham hugging some of his teammates on the sideline.
“It’s such a shame because he was having a phenomenal year,” Lowe said. “When he tackled the quarterback … he just came out of nowhere. He was having such a great season. He was playing like he was in his 20s.
“He’s just amazing. We had the opportunity to meet him a couple years ago, and he was just the nicest guy.”
That part isn’t likely to change. Graham said he saw plenty of the support from Eagles fans Monday.
“I’m thankful for them,” he said. “Without them, this ain’t it. For me, I’m just thankful I was able to help the team up until this point, and to get that recognition from the fans just makes me want to go even harder for them.”