January 11, 2026
In late October, Brandon Graham came out of retirement. He still wanted to play, and wanted to help an Eagles team that still had a shot at winning another Super Bowl.
It's January now, and the Birds are back in the playoffs, finally ready to take that shot beginning later Sunday against the 49ers in the NFC Wild Card.
And Graham? He's still fully behind his decision to come back.
Wrote the longtime defensive end in a letter to Eagles fans before Sunday's big game down at Lincoln Financial Field:
Two and a half months ago, I made the decision to come out of retirement. I had gone out on top, celebrating my second Super Bowl on Broad Street. I lived the fairytale ending.
But, when I had the chance to come back, I thought to myself, why pass on an opportunity at history?
When my career is finally over, no one will care about how it ended.
What gets you remembered in this city are championships, and we have a shot at another one this year. If I didn't think so, I wouldn't be here. I would have gone off into the sunset if I felt last year was our final chance.
But it wasn't.
I still have that fire inside, and I know this team has what it takes to make our goals a reality.
You can read Graham's full letter on the Eagles' website HERE.
Graham certainly had the fairytale ending, making it all the way back from a torn triceps last year to help the Eagles win their second-ever Super Bowl in his 15th and, at the time, final season.
He officially hung up his cleats after the parade, passing the torch off to a defense that was set to get younger, but the itch to play never left, most of those Super Bowl-winning parts were still there, and after Za'Darius Smith suddenly retired midseason, there was an opening within the Eagles' pass rush.
So Graham came back.
It hasn't been totally smooth sailing since, but the Eagles repeated as NFC East champions for the first time in two decades, Graham himself shook off the rust and showed that he still has something left in the tank, and now the Birds are here in the postseason, looking to make their run at a third Super Bowl title and what would be their first ever repeat.
It all starts later Sunday at the Linc, and as with every playoff appearance, with a hype video to get the adrenaline going:
The hard way pic.twitter.com/WwLZ77hIri
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 10, 2026
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