Out of retirement, Brandon Graham back to his usual trash-talking ways
It didn’t take Brandon Graham very long.
Just the day after officially coming out of retirement, Graham was back on the Eagles’ practice field, wearing his No. 55 jersey and talking some trash to his offensive teammates.
“In the stretch he was already talking smack,” left tackle Jordan Mailata said. “And he was the only one talking. It was like quiet, all you heard was music and you just hear BG: ‘Yeah, I can hear you breathing heavy already! Yeah, fat boy! HAHAH.’”
Graham, 37, is an absolute Eagles legend. But he’s also a legendary trash talker. Few have ever done it better than him.
And even though he hasn’t played in a game yet this season, he hasn’t lost his fastball. His teammates were happy to have that juice back on the practice field to start this week.
“I didn’t realize I missed it until I heard his voice,” Mailata said. “I was like, ‘Dammit. This guy, man. Legendary.’”
After announcing his return on Tuesday, Graham said on his Unblocked podcast that he was looking forward to first chirping the Eagles’ offensive tackles, Mailata and Lane Johnson, but he was also looking forward to getting on the interior offensive linemen too.
They were not spared on Wednesday.
“Yeah, BG’s going to be BG,” right guard Tyler Steen said. “Same dude. Just chatting the whole practice, talking trash. Yeah, it’s nice to have him back.
“I felt it all day — 1-on-1s, 2-on-2, during team, he was talking, running around, flying around. He’s got fresh legs. It was cool.”
The entire team feeds off the energy Graham brings to practice. Now, the Eagles didn’t bring Graham back because of his trash talking or even because of his veteran leadership. They brought Graham back for his 16th NFL season because they still think he can play at a high level and can give a boost to Vic Fangio’s defense.
But when Graham is on the team, you get all those other things too.
And there’s a tangible benefit to having him around. Rookie defensive tackle Ty Robinson learned that during his first practice with the Eagles legend.
“It was awesome,” Robinson said. “I think nobody really talks like he does out at practice. Just to be able to hear a familiar voice for a lot of these guys has been bringing an extra wind.
“Even with me out there, he noticed I was breathing pretty hard. He was like, ‘I know you’re tired, I’m tired too but we’re about done.’ It kind of got me through the last couple plays. It kind of just seems like he picked up where he left off. Hasn’t skipped a beat.”
Robinson said he typically isn’t the type of player who really feeds off trash-talking or energetic teammates but said it’s different with Graham because of the respect factor. Robinson said he wants to make sure that if he’s tired, he doesn’t make it too noticeable. He wants Graham to know he can rely on him.
The same could probably be said of edge rusher Josh Uche, who has been a fan of Graham for a long time because of their University of Michigan connection. Uche isn’t surprised that Graham came out of retirement and said there were moments this summer where he couldn’t even tell Graham was retired.
“I come in, he’s watching film,” Uche said. “I just felt like football is one thing that I feel like BG could never get away from. I figured he’d be a coach or something. So when he wasn’t coaching, I’m like, ‘Alright, something might be up.’ It was just great to have him back.”
Uche even said Graham was doing some workouts this summer with some of his teammates and associate strength and conditioning coach Edward Grayer. Graham never let himself get out of shape and he has been ramping it up over the last month or so.
The Eagles have a two-week exemption for Graham so they might not activate him for Sunday’s game against the Giants, but that will be determined by the week of practice.
It seems like Graham is off to a good start with his play … and his chirping.
How much was Graham talking on Wednesday?
“Talking enough. Talking enough,” Jalen Hurts said. “Out there making plays and you feel it. Obviously, I know he’s taking it one day at a time and he’s going to be ready when his number’s called.”
Out of retirement, Brandon Graham back to his usual trash-talking ways
