Brandon Graham’s positivity will be his legacy of eagles of all time

Brandon Graham I had to mature in a man in Philadelphia: to last 15 unprecedented seasons with the Eagles, win two Super Bowls and become the husband and the father who always wanted to be.

But his contagious personality, his positive attitude and his lush smile were an intrinsic part of Graham before arriving here in 2010. They were the features that contributed the most to their longevity, their triumphs and what can end with its greatest legacy, than as the ideal teammate and co -worker.

“Great character of character who has never had a bad day,” he read a predraft exploration report before the Eagles selected Graham in the first round. “Always smiling and optimistic no matter how things are going. See the positive in everything every day.”

When Graham took the stage to announce His football withdrawal about 15 years laterThere were some tears. He said goodbye to what had defined him during most of his life, and took him to the pinnacle of sport. Football saved him from Detroit’s bad streets and turned him into a philadelphia legend despite some rough moments here.

But Graham wasn’t having a bad day. The auditorium in the Novacare complex was full of family, friends, teammates, coaches, executives, commercial partners, and even members of the media, who could not avoid being affected by their positive energy in the last more than three decades.

And one day that is often dyed of sadness (see: Jason KelceThe retirement of only one year ago) was mainly a celebration due to the man who sat between Lombardi’s trophies and refused to revolted by not doing one of the things he loved best.

“Say everything I had, everything I had in this, and don’t regret,” said a briefly emotional Graham on Tuesday. “That is something that I tell young people: ‘They don’t regret it.”

Graham’s retreat was not a surprise, of course. He said before the season that this would be the last one, but a triceps torn in November made him go back to that statement. It was thought that the season was ending.

But the eagles made Super Bowl Lix and Graham made a miraculous return. And Blowout’s victory over the Chiefs consolidated that he could leave as few: a champion and a two timers, nothing less.

When Graham entered the auditorium, he sank all the reporters before taking the stage. It was a slight wink to a ritual that had begun in its first Eagles training camp at Lehight University, when they hugged each of the journalists waiting outside the locker room after practice.

It was a unicorn, even for someone in its early years covering a rhythm of the NFL, a first round selection that was as extroverted and affectionate as a Golden Retriever. The Eagles said it after negotiating to select Michigan’s defensive wing with the 13th general selection, but there was skepticism.

They fell in love with him in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. Graham had a great week of practice and shone in the game, but it was his interview, headed by the newly coined general manager. Howie Rosemanthat increased its stock with the eagles. The then coach Andy Reid, who had the end, would soon be on board.

The first exploration writings of the Eagles were excited about Graham’s character, NFL sources said. He had some minor transgressions, a disorderly behavior appointment for a strong radio during the high school that he forgot to pay at one time, a couple of positive evidence for marijuana at the university, but the reports were effusive in their praise of their makeup and mentality.

Ryan Grigson, then director of Exploration of the Eagles, was the first with boots on the ground in August 2009. “A complacent town”, “always a smile on the face”, “enters, looks you in the eye and shakes your hand”, were just some of their conclusions. (Grigson later became GM of Colts and is now a high -ranking executive with the Vikings).

The explorers of the Jon Spytek area, who recently became the GM of the Raiders, and Johnathan Stigell, who now works for the New York Jets, was the following in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Spytek played in Michigan).

“Everyone loves this child and only has good things to say about him,” reads an article.

Graham’s parents were divorced. He lived with his mother, Tasha Graham, but his father, Darrick Walton, remained a constant presence in Graham’s life. They copent and supported their son.

But Tasha Graham introduced Football to Football to avoid possible negative influences of his neighborhood, among other reasons. And she instilled in her, she said, the positivity that has become her most endearing characteristic.

“She always said: ‘Be different,” said Graham. “I know we don’t like to see the news all the time because it was very negative. So I always got caught with me, where is it, you know why we turn on that? It’s nothing positive that I leave.

“Then, for me as a child, I always tried to go against that easy, incorrect, and that is a pot and be negative about something.”

Tasha Graham, who wore his son’s 55 shirt at his press conference and posed for photos later with Walton, would not be attributed the credit for his son’s disposition. But she said there were some necessary parenting.

“I can’t have a bad son living with me,” he said. “His infant garden teacher told me: ‘You’re going to have problems with your son,’ I said: ‘You don’t know who his mother is.'”

Despite all Graham’s positive features, it was far from a finished product when it landed in Philadelphia. He was only 22 years old and was armed with a billionaire contract. Who could blame him for the blue Porsche that he bought immediately, even if he later said it was a purchase that lamented, and led Lehight?

But there were bad habits to break and mature.

“I had to grow early, because, on the one hand, I wouldn’t have a wife if I didn’t,” said Graham. “So you had to grow quickly. If you choose to take the next step in life where I had my wife, I want to be the best man that could be for her. And I had to clean some of my old things, my old habits and grow.”

Graham meets his wife, Carlyne, from high school and married 11 years ago. She has been there through all the ups and downs of her professional career. Few players last both in a place without tribulations, but Graham could have gone several times.

Being labeled as a first round “bust” for some had a deep impact on their career, even if the objective observers understood that an important knee injury, the indifference of their position coach, Jim Washburn, and a scheme change under the new coach Chip Kelly hindered their first four seasons in the NFL.

Graham seemed almost missing when he first arrived at the free agency in 2015 and then again four years later in 2019, but Kelly and then Roseman brought him back. He had too much talent, something not mentioned so much here, but should not be forgotten, but they also knew what it meant for the costumes.

It brought energy every day. It was a “constant and constant ear”, for his teammates, as he described. The number of protected is too long to list. Two of the last ones, Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt external supporters attended Graham’s press conference.

“With them young boys, when they come to talk to me, I really take it seriously,” said Graham. “I really try to be there for them. I really try to be that ear heard if they just want to talk and complain about something. But, of course, I’m always to fix it, ‘So what are you going to do about it?'”

Graham was not perfect. (Who is it?) Being a complacent of the people could put it in trouble in the interviews. Your comments on the radio After a December game about Jalen hurts and AJ Brown And his relationship led to a controversy of minor media about discord between the field marshal and the receiver.

He apologized with tires with his teammates and then had to walk his words back.

“The ups and downs of me say some things, boy. And then, you know, I have to live the week and listen to this,” said Graham. “And it’s like, ‘Oh, I can’t watch television this week because I said this.’

“I don’t intend to say so, but that’s how they took it.”

But Graham’s heart was always in the right place. And few will remember a couple of false steps in an exemplary race. What should not be forgotten beyond the 217 total games, the 82 captures, including the most important defensive game in the history of the franchise, the garbage that speaks and the risk always present, was Graham’s legacy to show grace.

The Eagles did it so many years ago when they explored the old Wolverine. They saw the overwhelming positive in Graham. He will always be part of the franchise and work with the team in some way in the future.

But Graham also has two children to raise: his daughter Emerson and his son Bryson, whom he wakes up early because “men wake up first at our home,” he said.

Graham became a man in Philadelphia just before our eyes. He said that he is even improving to accept the bad times and that he has learned that he is sometimes okay to stir in them.

“I am improving with that, because it would be very quick to move on, because some negative things happened,” Graham said. “I know it will not be negative for a long time, but sometimes I try to stay a bit to say that I felt it.

“But then I’m always trying to find that action plan for the following.”

Whatever the next one ends, Graham will bring him what only he can.