Brandon Graham was motoring around the Eagles’ practice field on Friday just like old times. The 36-year-old showed great burst as a limited participant in football drills, terrorizing tackling dummies and shimmying his feet while talking his usual smack.
Graham, with gray hair shooting out of his beard, told his Eagles teammates that he’d be back for the Super Bowl if they got there. Guess what? They held up their end of the bargain so now the grizzled veteran is making sure he’s on that flight to New Orleans.
“Seeing him fly around at practice today was reassuring that he’s ready because he was out there working some guys today,” left tackle Jordan Mailata told reporters. “He looked like his old self again and it was pretty special that he would come back for us, for this moment.”
Here’s Brandon Graham going through individual drills: pic.twitter.com/QHDkoCo9v8
— EJ Smith (@EJSmith94) January 31, 2025
According to linebacker Zack Baun, the Eagles set a goal to make it to the Super Bowl as soon as Graham tore his triceps against the Rams in a game on November 24. Everyone knew he was done for the rest of the regular season, although a postseason return wasn’t ruled out.
“Our whole goal was to make it to the Super Bowl so BG had the chance to play and we held up our end of the bargain,” Baun said, “and, hopefully, he’s doing the same on his end, and getting ready to play.”
“BG is so motivational,” defensive tackle Jalen Carter said. “He motivates everybody. So, just to see what he’s been through — and he’s been telling us, ‘Hey, get us to the Super Bowl. I’m going to be back here and I’m going to be playing with you guys.’ And just to see what he’s doing now, it’s amazing.”
Graham broke the Eagles’ huddle down to end Friday’s practice. The move was an encouraging sign as well as a symbolic one, allowing him to get the final word in before the team boarded a plane for Super Bowl LIX.
“He looked good. He was out there today flying around and talking mess,” right tackle Lane Johnson said. “I know he’s excited. Everybody’s excited for him. Everybody knows what type of player BG’s been, someone that has consistently bounced back from adversity and so we’re all excited for him, very excited.”
Lane Johnson told reporters Brandon Graham was flying around and even broke down the huddle after practice. @ashlynrsullivan asked guys about it. Perhaps BG is going to get to play in another Super Bowl if things remain positive? Eagles Gameday Kickoff tomorrow 9 am. NBC10 pic.twitter.com/IFq8N5RsXQ
— rob kuestner (@rkuestnernbc10) February 2, 2025
Jalen Hurts Not Dwelling on Eagles’ Previous Super Bowl loss
Jalen Hurts wasn’t ready to detail his thoughts on the last Super Bowl he played in. The Eagles dropped that one 38-35 to the Chiefs, with Hurts famously keeping a picture of the red-and-white confetti dropping on his head as his cell phone’s lock screen. Hurts has moved on.
When asked to share his most vivid memory from Super Bowl LVII, Hurts said: “Next question.”
The quarterback wasn’t trying to be rude. He just didn’t want to dwell on it.
“It’s a business trip,” Hurts said, “and it’s an opportunity that we’ve worked for to have and we want to take advantage of it.”
Jalen Hurts’ lockscreen is a photo of him walking off of the field after the Super Bowl loss with the Chiefs’ confetti falling…
This man is on a mission this season. pic.twitter.com/YUAx0TMnX4
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) July 31, 2023
Another reporter brought the previous loss up one more time, attempting to get a straight answer out of Hurts about how he moved on from it.
“I moved on to the next season and prepared for that,” Hurts said. “Obviously, you have different motivations. You’re motivated by any time you come up short in anything and having that perspective, just trying to learn from all of your lessons. No shortcoming is bigger than the other, and you want to learn from them all.”
Lane Johnson Feeling Great, Not Ready to Retire
Lane Johnson has gone on the record multiple times saying how he wants to play another season or two. He’s under contract through the 2026 season after inking an extension in March 2023. Nothing has changed.
“I’m definitely not retiring after this game, win or lose,” Johnson said. “I’m definitely playing next year so that’s really how you take it. When you get up in age, you take it one year at a time.”
Age is just a number, especially the way the Eagles’ training staff takes care of their over-the-hill gang.
“Physically, I feel a lot better than I have in the past couple of years,” Johnson said. “I feel really good. And, for being this late in the year, it’s usually not like that, so I’m thankful and we got a good team here to help us out with that [stuff].”
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
