Brandon Graham Officially Returns to the Philadelphia Eagles for 16th Season

It turns out Brandon Graham didn’t really like retirement.

At least, not yet.

On Tuesday, the longest-tenured player in franchise history announced he’d officially be returning to the team.

OUT OF RETIREMENT HE COMES! We’ve agreed to terms with DE Brandon Graham. Bring on Season 16 👏 pic.twitter.com/x3zAiZF7He

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 21, 2025

While news of this potentially happening only hit as a potential option this weekend, it seems to have been well in the making.

All reports indicate that Graham has been looking at coming back for a month or more.

John Clark reports he’s been in the NovaCare complex fairly regularly and working out for a month to make sure he’s in game-ready shape for a possible return.

It’s my understanding Brandon Graham has been working out regularly over the last month or more to get ready for a possible return, with an original plan of possibly returning for the Green Bay game after the bye week. It looks like it’s been sped up!
I’m told he has been ready… pic.twitter.com/xc8KMWDJ0d

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) October 21, 2025

Clark did say the plan was to have Graham return after the bye against the Packers.

It’s unclear if the signing now means the team expects him to play this weekend against the Giants, but the game after that is the Packers game, so it’s not too far off course.

The catalyst for a potential speed up appears to be Za’Darius Smith’s abrupt retirement.

The Eagles get Graham back for a 16th season with the team and, following the bye is when it was originally reported that the team expects to get Nolan Smith back from IR.

Graham returning later in the season means he’s had more time than he probably would have to recover from last season’s injuries and is only looking at playing an 8 or 9-game regular season schedule that could help him get to peak production just in time for the games that matter most.