The Eagles' roster churn paused momentarily this afternoon, when it was reported that Brandon Graham will unexpectedly stay with the Eagles a little longer, according to Tim McManus of PhillyMag:
The Eagles confirmed the signing.
Had Graham departed, it would have left the Eagles with yet another significant hole to fill on their roster after the Eagles parted in various ways with LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, Trent Cole, Todd Herremans, Cary Williams, and James Casey.
After being selected in the first round of the 2010 draft, Graham was often tabbed with the dreaded "bust" label early in his career, but he has shown promise in the opportunities he received with the Eagles. Graham is a legitimately talented pass rusher, which is a valuable commodity in the NFL, but he never played more than 524 snaps in one season in Philly. With Trent Cole out of the picture, it will be interesting to see how Graham will produce with more game action.
The Eagles' duo at OLB heading into 2015 will be Graham and Connor Barwin, who is coming off an outstanding 2014 season. Beyond Graham and Barwin, the Eagles drafted Marcus Smith in the first round of the 2014 draft, but Smith showed virtually nothing in his rookie season. Expecting Smith to make a huge leap from year one to year two in the NFL may have been wishful thinking, so having Graham back in the mix eases some of those concerns.
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