PHILADELPHIA − Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox represent the last of the old guard on defense, and both face very uncertain futures.
Graham is the Eagles’ longest-tenured player, as a first-round pick in 2010, while Cox arrived two years later, also in the first round. Only Graham and center Jason Kelce, who was a sixth-round pick in 2011, have been with the Eagles longer than Cox.
Graham ranks fourth in team history with 59 sacks, and Cox is fifth with 58.
Yet Graham, 34, is coming off a torn Achilles that caused him to miss the final 15 games of the 2021 season. He said his long recovery and return gave him “a new appreciation” for football, knowing that his career could have easily ended if he didn’t put in that work.
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He said it was well worth it.
“Man, I’m so excited just being back with the guys,” he said. “We got a good team. I want to take advantage of every day that we get to spend together because we got something special, but we gotta put that work in every day. It’s not just going to come to us because of what it says on paper.”
Added Cox: “You gotta appreciate (Graham). I’ve been playing with him for a long time, and you expect him to be there. It just feels different when he’s there.”
Cox, 31, is coming off his second of three seasons in which he had just 3.5 sacks, the lowest amount since 2013 when he had 3.
The Eagles even released Cox back in March so they could avoid guaranteeing him $18 million for this season, in addition to guaranteed money in future seasons. A few days later, Cox signed a one-year deal worth $14 million. One month later, the Eagles drafted his expected successor in Jordan Davis in the first round.
As for Graham, he was selected to his first Pro Bowl in 2020, but there’s no telling how much the Achilles, and age, will affect him this season. And the Eagles have options. Graham has guaranteed money coming in 2023, but the Eagles can release him next spring and save money on the salary cap. They did this last spring with right guard Brandon Brooks, who then retired.
But Graham and Cox are proud and determined. If this season is going to be their last with the Eagles, or in the NFL, they want to make sure they’re ready.
So there was Graham on Wednesday after the Eagles’ first practice of training camp, detailing his recovery from the Achilles, and what he went through to be “full go” for the start of camp.
“I had never had an Achilles (injury),” Graham said. “But once I heard that it was an Achilles, I did have that thought of, ‘Man, this is the one that everybody said they didn’t want.’ And then when you actually go through it, the hardest part is you gotta actually lay in bed for two months, then you gain a little weight. Then you gotta get back on your feet, and you gotta work.”
Graham said the recovery wasn’t as difficult as it was in his rookie season when he needed microfracture knee surgery. Graham recovered by the midway point of the 2011 season. But back then, he faced a different set of challenges of proving himself as a starting NFL player.
Now he’s trying to prove that he can remain one.
“It really tested me again … of how bad do you want it?” Graham said. “If you want to come back right, you gotta make sure that you eat right. You gotta make sure when it’s time to go, you get ready to go. And man, it was a battle.”
Cox didn’t have to overcome an injury, just a difficult season on the field after being selected to the Pro Bowl for six straight seasons from 2015-20.
“Obviously, it wasn’t one of the best years of my career,” Cox said. “Down year for me. I could have been better in a lot of ways. I know I’ll be better. Second year of this defense, I know what to expect. I know what’s going on. I’ll be ready for whatever.”
It wasn’t that long ago that Cox was considered one of the top defensive tackles in the NFL, behind only the Rams’ Aaron Donald. He was able to shed double teams and still get to the quarterback from the middle of the line. When opponents doubled Cox to start last season, fellow defensive tackle Javon Hargrave had 6 sacks in the first 5 games.
Then teams started double-teaming Hargrave, but Cox couldn’t take full advantage. Hargrave had just 1.5 sacks in his last 11 games with the extra attention. Cox had just 1 sack through the first 14 games. It didn’t help that Cox struggled to adjust to the read-and-react scheme of defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, saying after a loss to the Raiders in Week 7, “I don’t get paid to play screens.”
Eventually, Cox adapted. Davis’ arrival could cut into Cox’s playing time, especially if Davis adjusts quickly. That could also make Cox more effective when he does play because he’ll be able to play to his strengths.
Graham will have to adjust as well. And while the Eagles don’t have an heir apparent to replace Graham, they do have two first-round picks next spring. It’s a good bet that if the Eagles are not pooling those picks for a quarterback, they’ll be looking at a defensive end.
That, however, is in the future. Both Cox and Graham are here in the present, somewhat humbled after difficult 2021 seasons, but unbowed about what they can still contribute.
“I’m in no rush to leave the field because, as you know, time is flying,” Graham said. “Once we get started with this season, it’s going to be over. And I’ll be going into Year 14, so I’m just trying to enjoy every day.”
That’s all he and Cox can do.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
