Jason Kelce has high praise for former Eagles teammate and ‘pit bull’ Brandon Graham after his retirement
“I don’t know that anybody represented what it is to be a Philadelphia Eagle more than Brandon,” Kelce said on “New Heights” Wednesday.
A number of Eagles legends were in the building for Brandon Graham’s retirement press conference, including Jalen Hurts, Fletcher Cox, and Lane Johnson.
But some noticed that Jason Kelce, the final member of the famous “Core Four” group of longest-tenured Eagles that also included Graham, Cox, and Johnson, was missing. On New Heights Wednesday, Kelce paid tribute to Graham, and said the two met up shortly before and a few days after the initial announcement.
“I don’t know that anybody represented what it is to be a Philadelphia Eagle more than Brandon,” Kelce said. “The genuine love to be on the field for your teammates, the energy he brought on a daily basis. I was fortunate to see him Monday that week and I saw him later that week after the announcement. Very happy for him, very happy for his family, and looking forward to seeing what’s next.”
» READ MORE: Brandon Graham’s career through the eyes of Eagles fans: ‘Thank you for the memories’
Kelce and Cox both retired after the 2023 season, after 13 and 12 seasons respectively, all with the Eagles. Graham pledged to play one more year, his 15th with the Eagles, but after tearing his left triceps midseason, some, including Kelce, speculated that he may return.
“I’ve been talking to BG for a long time,” Kelce said. “Obviously he made it known before the season that this was going to be his final year, but he was playing so good before his triceps injury that I was like, is he going to do it again? He still could, he could definitely still play. He rushed it, he wanted to play in the Super Bowl really bad, and he ended up re-tearing his triceps in the Super Bowl, and that just tells you the type of competitor and person he is and just what a pit bull he was for the Philadelphia Eagles for 15 years.”
Kelce said he expects Graham to continue to hang around the team, and also mentioned that Graham will likely have television and media opportunities, though Graham has not announced formal plans to join a network for 2025. Graham was a frequent guest on WIP and hosted a weekly radio hour of his own in 2024.
» READ MORE: Brandon Graham’s positivity will be his lasting legacy as an Eagles all-timer
Despite not being in attendance, Kelce watched Graham’s press conference and felt the emotions of the moment, remembering the feeling of his own retirement announcement the year before.
“Even though he announced before the season that he was going to retire, it’s hard to make that announcement official,” Kelce said. “I think that’s why you see such an emotional moment out of the guy. As someone that’s been there before, you put so much into this game. The finality of it happening, no matter how much you’ve thought about it or talked about it, is intense.
“I don’t know if there’s anybody in my tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles that put more into the game as a player, as a teammate — he loved football. He loved his teammates.”