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Philadelphia Eagles legend Brandon Graham has announced he is going back into retirement after briefly U-turning last season.
Graham briefly brought his NFL career to a close after his 15th season in Philadelphia, which ended with a dominant win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Super Bowl LIX in February 2025.
The 38-year-old defensive end, who is the longest-tenured player in Eagles history, then returned to action for the Eagles just eight months later.
Graham, a two-time Super Bowl champion, came to the rescue for Eagles coach Nick Sirianni in October after the team's defensive line suffered a number of injuries and Za'Darius Smith also retired.
He would go on to play nine games last season but the Eagles' Super Bowl defense ended in the first round of the playoffs with a 23-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
On Tuesday morning, just days before the Eagles open their 2026 campaign against the Washington Commanders, Graham confirmed he has played his final game in the NFL during a speech at an event in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Eagles legend Brandon Graham has announced he is going back into retirement
Graham came out of retirement in October to help the Eagles and played nine games for them
The 38-year-old defensive end briefly walked away after their Super Bowl victory in 2025
The former first-round draft pick out of Michigan ends his career as the all-time leader in games played for Philadelphia with 215, while he ranks third with 79.5 sacks
He is also one of four players who participated in both of the franchise's Super Bowl wins: following the 2017 season against the New England Patriots and against Kansas City at the end of the 2024 season.
After working his way back from injury, Graham got on the field for 13 snaps and made one tackle in the 40-22 win over Travis Kelce and Co in New Orleans.
He had a much bigger impact in the victory over New England when his strip-sack of Tom Brady late in the fourth quarter thwarted a comeback attempt and helped deliver Philadelphia its first Lombardi Trophy.
When explaining why he came out of retirement briefly last year, Graham admitted: 'I really didn't want to retire in the beginning, it was kind of tough
'But it was like, "Hey... Philly right now, they've got everything that they need, and I don't see myself with no other team. So I think this is the best way to do it, just go out on top."
'Then the months went by after we won the Super Bowl, of course I'm still working out, still training and stuff, but I'm just enjoying myself too. I'm trying to make sure I enjoy myself, play a lot of golf. We created a new schedule for what it's gonna be like.
'But football, of course, when you get close to the season, man...'
He then explained how he was eventually approached by his beloved team after setting the wheels in motion for his return by floating the idea to his agent at the start of the season.
'Of course I feel like I still have some more juice left,' he added.
