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Philadelphia Eagles veteran defensive end Brandon Graham, who spent his entire 15-year career with the franchise, becoming the longest-tenured player in its history, announced his retirement on Tuesday (March 18).
“First, I just want to say thank you to everybody. Ya'll know I gave everything I had in this and I don't have no regrets," Graham said during a press conference via NBC Sports Philadelphia. "That's one thing I tell them young boys, don't have no regrets. And so, first, I just want to say 15 years ago I walked into this city as a young man with dreams, big dreams, a little bit of nervousness and a whole lot of fire in my heart. I had no idea back then what this journey would bring."
The Eagles also shared a video of Graham, 36, placing his No. 55 jersey and cleats on the iconic statue of Rocky Balboa in downtown Philadelphia while revealing his retirement decision, which came one month after winning his second Super Bowl in his final NFL game.
"This definitely means something to me, man," Graham said in the video. "This is Philly right here, you know, and every time people come to Philly it's about the Rocky steps so I wanted to hang my cleats up and I'm here to let them know the job is done."
Graham was responsible for one of the most important plays in Eagles history, recording a strip sack on then-New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during Philadelphia's final defensive play of its Super Bowl LII win, its first in franchise history. The 36-year-old initially suffered a torn triceps injury late in November, which placed him on injured reserve for the remainder of the 2024 regular season, but returned in Super Bowl LIX to record one tackle during the Eagles' 40-22 win against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The former Michigan standout concludes his career with 487 tackles, 76.5 sacks, 22 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries, 11 pass deflections and one defensive touchdowns during 15 NFL seasons.