Brandon Graham’s career was as improbable as it was incredible and he knows that.
So as the Eagles’ legend officially retired from the NFL on Tuesday afternoon, Graham didn’t have to think hard about the lesson in his story and what he wants people to take from it.
“What I want them to take from the story is it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” Graham said. “And so for me, if you get another opportunity, whatever that opportunity is, run with it.”
There’s no doubt that Graham finished strong.
He leaves the game after 15 seasons, all in an Eagles uniform. He played more seasons and games than anyone in franchise history, finishing third all-time in sacks in team history. And last month, he returned just 11 weeks after a torn triceps to play in the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX victory.
As he announced his retirement in a prepared speech, Graham on Tuesday was flanked by both Lombardi Trophies he helped bring to Philadelphia as a reminder of the ultimate highs of his career.
But there was plenty of talk about the lows too.
Because you can’t talk about Graham’s 15-year career without mentioning everything he overcame to get to the finish line. In fact, it’s what makes his story so unique and inspiring.
The Eagles drafted Graham with the 13th overall pick in the 2010 draft and the first few seasons of his career didn’t go to plan. To make matters worse, the two players drafted right after him, Earl Thomas and Jason Pierre-Paul, were very good early. Because Graham’s career took so long to get going, he was prematurely labeled a bust.
And that hurt.
Graham on Tuesday credited former teammates Jason Peters and Trent Cole for helping him get over it.
“When they put that bust label on me, that was tough, because I didn’t want to go outside. I didn’t want to do nothing,” Graham said. “I got to give my credit to my wife. She got me back outside doing stuff for the community and not just sitting up. She’s like, ‘Do something about it,’ but you can’t be just sitting in the house. And so I get it. I think during that time they put that bust label on me around Year 2 to 3, it was tough.
“But once I was able to fight back, I think things started to get better for me. But it’s about your attitude and how you persevere through. Just know that it’s never going to be too high all the time. There’s going to be lows in there but you’ve got to try to keep it even-keeled. You’ve got to stay being you because when your moment do come, I don’t want to have no resentment or be mad at anybody to where I missed my opportunity. And so I think just talking about it with my guys and then they say, ‘Well, now what you going to do?’ And so I just did something about it one day at a time.”
Graham didn’t become a full-time starter until Year 6 of his career. He didn’t get named to a Pro Bowl until Year 11. He didn’t have a double-digit sack season until Year 13. Graham is the ultimate example of patience and perseverance. Eventually, it worked, but things didn’t start off so great.
During his career, Graham had to learn how to deal with criticism and let it roll off his back. During those early days, Graham took a lot of it personally and even blocked a ton of Eagles fans on Twitter.
But during the 2017 season Graham made a deal with Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice to unblock all of those accounts if the Eagles won the Super Bowl. And, sure enough, they did win it all. Graham on Tuesday said that day when all those accounts became unblocked was the day he forgave everybody and moved on.
“I think for me, winning that Super Bowl, the way it happened, that helped,” Graham said. “Those conversations and knowing that you’re not going to make everybody happy, so stop trying. As long as my family good now, that’s all that really matter. My close people, people that really mean something to me, as long as we can have conversations and get through things together, that’s all that matter because a lot of people don’t know me.
“A lot of people just watch the football player that I am and what I did but they don’t know me. I can’t be mad at them for them making their own assumptions of whatever it is, because you know what assumptions do. That’s why I don’t assume. Because if I want to know something, I’m going to go talk to them. I this case, in football, you don’t really get to talk to a lot of us, so you’re going to talk about us. You can’t really take offense to it.”
Graham will go down as one of the most beloved Eagles of all-time. He’s a two-time Super Bowl champion who made one of the most important plays in franchise history.
His rocky relationship with the fanbase early in his career makes his ascension to local legend even more incredible.
“And finally, to Philadelphia,” Graham said to close his speech. “We didn’t start so tight, as you know. You made me work for this and I appreciate you for that. Through the struggles, the injuries and the moment where I had to prove myself over and over again, you never let me get comfortable. You held me accountable. You kept that chip on my shoulder. You pushed me to be better and when the time came, we celebrated together. Two times.”
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