May 16, 2017
It was reported a week ago that Philadelphia Eagles DE Brandon Graham intended to hold out from voluntary workouts and potentially OTAs this offseason.
Apparently not. Tuesday morning, Graham showed up at the team's facilities and even posted a video of himself doing so, via Instagram. Actually, it wasn't necessarily Instagram. It was on Graham's "Instagram story" page, so you have to be following him and be on your phone to see it, which Ben Livingston of WIP was when he took a screen shot of Graham's video. (In related news, not to sound all old and cranky, but I often hate 2017.)
Look where Brandon Graham is... 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/UN2vlRBLaV
— Ben Livingston (@bliv94) May 16, 2017
Graham's holdout would have made sense. He was the only Eagles player to make the All-Pro team in 2016, and at a minimum, he is the Eagles' best defensive end. Still, he is making significantly less money than teammate Vinny Curry, who plays the same position, but is on the field far less than Graham is.
| Snaps | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
| Brandon Graham | 765 | 856 | 499 | 323 |
| Vinny Curry | 435 | 427 | 371 | 317 |
Graham signed a four-year, $26 million dollar deal during the 2015 offseason, which makes him just the 28th-highest paid edge rusher in the NFL. The following year, Curry was re-upped on a five-year, $46.25 million contract.
To note, I don't believe the initial report wasn't without merit, as I had heard similar rumblings. However, holdouts in the NFL are something of a thing of the past, as players are fined heavily for missing mandatory practices, so I'm of the belief that Graham simply came to his senses and changed his mind.
UPDATE: Graham tweeted the following Tuesday afternoon:
— Brandon Graham (@brandongraham55) May 16, 2017
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