Brandon Graham is rewriting his storybook ending. Is it the right call for him?

Make no mistake, the Philadelphia Eagles desperately need Brandon Graham right now.

With Za'Darius Smith's unexpected retirement on Oct. 13, the Birds were already looking for edge rushing reinforcements. Nolan Smith and Ogbo Okoronkwo are on IR. The position got even thinner with Azeez Ojulari's hamstring injury on Sunday. Graham's rumored return was first reported Sunday morning, before Ojulari even got injured. Now the need is even greater.

So the Eagles' edge rushing group – Jalyx Hunt, Patrick Johnson and Joshua Uche – is shallow, and they need to add experienced personnel. Graham perfectly fits that bill. 

But is a return to NFL action actually in Graham's best interest?

This is no disrespect to Graham. He's the modern Eagles legend. After being drafted in 2010, Graham played 15 NFL seasons, all of them with the Birds. He's the Eagles' record-holder for most regular-season games played with 206, and he's third on the franchise sack leaderboard with 76.5 sacks. And, of course, his strip sack of Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII sealed Philadelphia's first-ever Super Bowl championship.

But look at it this way. Graham is now 37 years old. Before the 2024 season began, he announced that it would be his last. Then the Eagles won Super Bowl LIX, and Graham went out on top as a two-time Super Bowl champion. It just felt right.

Howie Roseman said as much directly to Graham. A week before the start of free agency, Graham was unsure of retirement, so in his March exit meeting, he asked his long-time GM.

"Howie said, 'Man, this is such a fairy-tale ending for you. But I'm going to let you decide on what you want to do,'" Graham said, per Tim McManus of ESPN. "I was like, 'Man, you know what? It's over. ... My prayer was pretty much said to me in a way to go ahead and retire.'"

Roseman probably regrets saying that now, since he's the one who's asked Graham to return to the Eagles more than once this season.

Before his retirement, Graham's body was also showing some signs of wear and tear. He was playing very well in 2024 before he got hurt, but that's just it. He got hurt. He tore his left triceps just before Thanksgiving and gave everything working to return for Super Bowl LIX, which he did. But then he re-tore his triceps in that game.

Graham said Tuesday morning on the "Brandon Graham Unblocked" podcast that even after that injury, he felt conflicted about hanging up his cleats.

"I didn't really want to retire in the beginning. It was tough," Graham said. "But it was like, 'Hey, Philly, right now, they've got everything they need,' So it's like, 'Alright, well, I don't see myself on any other team,' so I think this was the best way to do it. Just go out on top."

Graham worked out for months and kept himself in shape. When Smith abruptly retired, Graham took it as a sign. Smith even had Graham's old locker.

Graham said he "still had some more juice left" after his retirement, so if he felt a return was right, then that's obviously his decision. 

But on the Eagles' end, it reads as somewhat of a desperation move. If this were anyone other than the Brandon Graham, Philly sports media would be panning Roseman for bringing a 37-year-old out of retirement to solve the Eagles' edge rusher problems. The issues run much deeper than that.

Overall, my opinion – or anyone else's opinion – isn't going to stop Graham from returning. And it shouldn't. He has more than earned the right to do whatever he wants, and I hope his return to the Eagles ends up silencing any what-ifs he may have had about playing for one more year.

I just hope Graham's body holds up, and I hope he won't regret rewriting that fairy-tale ending.