Graham unsurprisingly positive a day after Achilles tear

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For the entirety of Brandon Graham’s decade-plus long career in Philadelphia, he has been unwaveringly positive.

Not even an Achilles tear could change that.

Just a day after Graham’s 2021 season ended at Lincoln Financial Field, he was his usual cheerful and positive self when NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark caught up with him on Monday evening.

“When I got hurt, I said a prayer and I was just like, ‘Let’s go,’” Graham said to Clark. “I tried to have the best attitude I could have. Of course I was hurt this morning when it kind of set in, but I ain’t stay there long. I’m just going to enjoy it from the sideline. But I’m still going to be there. I’m going to give everything I got. The intensity is still going to be there.”

Graham, 33, has been through a lot in his NFL career since the Eagles drafted him with the 13th overall pick in the 2010 draft. And it’s probably his positive attitude that helped him get through a lot of it.

And it’s definitely his positive attitude and energetic personality that has endeared him to waves of teammates over the last decade. There’s a reason why Graham was named a team captain again this season and a reason why he’s often the player to break down the team huddle before and after games.

Graham made sure to point out that he’s not going anywhere. He’ll have surgery to repair his Achilles and he’ll begin rehab to return to playing, but he’s going to be around his teammates for the rest of 2021.

“I’m going to make sure I help anybody that’s willing to listen,” Graham said. “I’m sure it’s a lot of guys that want to be helped. I just want them to go out there and be them. That’s all I’m really going to tell them. I see our team, I know what I can do. I know I’m just one guy. Yes, I’m a big part of some stuff but another guy can be just as big and it’s all about his mindset.”

Graham on the sidelines is going to be a weird sight. Since the beginning of the 2012 season, the only game he has missed was that meaningless regular season finale back in 2017. Aside from that game, Graham has started every game for the Eagles since 2016.

Fletcher Cox was visibly shaken on the field when he realized the significance of Graham’s injury. Those two have been teammates since Cox arrived in Philadelphia in 2012.

Not only has he started, but Graham seems to get better with age. He has had two of his best seasons the last two years and was named to his first-career Pro Bowl in 2020 at the age of 32.

“BG has been my locker mate since I got here and now we still get to laugh and talk about things,” Cox said. “It’s just he won’t be on the field on Sundays, it’ll be in the locker room. So, I’m looking forward to that and making sure he stays in a good place.”

Cox won’t have to work too hard to make sure Graham stays in a good place mentally.

It shouldn’t be a surprise, but he’s even overwhelmingly positive after a serious injury.

“No sense in crying over it, might as well just get ready for what’s to come,” Graham said. “I’m going to work my butt off to get back while I’m working my butt off to try to help the team too.”

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