Pederson has no issue with Graham’s absence
PHILADELPHIA >> Doug Pederson is not worried “at all” by the absence of embattled defensive end Brandon Graham, who has been portrayed as unhappy about his contract.
At a news conference Friday to kickoff rookie camp, Pederson said he’s spoken to Graham, who attended much of the voluntary practices before making a decision to take a break.
“I love Brandon and obviously he and I have got a great relationship,” Pederson said. “He’s been here. And as you guys know this is a voluntary offseason program so a lot of this is out of my hands. But you know, he’s a guy that’s valuable to the football team and I’m not worried about him at all.”
Graham is scheduled to make $6.5 million in this, the third year of his contract, and $6.5 million in 2018. He could make an argument for a raise as he’s outperformed higherpaid teammate Vinny Curry.
Curry is due $7 million this season. His lack of production basically is why the Eagles selected edge rusher Derek Barnett in the first round.
Graham hasn’t responded to text messages. The way Pederson is spinning it, that’s enough said. In past years the Eagles haven’t stood in the way of Jason Peters, Darren Sproles and Fletcher Cox exercising taking all or part of the voluntary workouts and informal practices off.
“He and I’ve had conversations, as I do with a lot of the players,” Pederson said of Gra-
ham. “And again, the expectation is would I like him here, yeah? Is it voluntary? I got it. That’s the hardest part as a coach is when you’re working on that type of schedule, it’s hard. But at the same time he’s a guy that, a veteran player, understands his role, understands his assignments and we expect big things from him this season.”
It’s early for Pederson to commit to moving Graham from left to right defensive end, where he’s more comfortable.
The Eagles want to figure out where Barnett fits best.
Barnett got special teams snaps in the early portion of practice Friday. He worked like it was an adjustment from his days breaking the late Reggie White’s all-times sacks record at Tennessee.
Pederson touched on several topics during his presser.
Pederson said the medical reports on second-round pick Sydney Jones, coming off a torn Achilles’ tendon, are solid.
“The medical staff is happy where he’s at but at the same time we’re not putting any kind of timetable on him,” Pederson said. “We’re going to do right by him and make sure he’s 100 percent before we stick him out there on the field.”
Pederson said defensive tackle Beau Allen is “doing well” in his rehab from a torn pectoral muscle. Ditto running back Ryan Mathews, who has a neck injury.
“Again, no timetable on either one of them,” Pederson said. “We want to make sure both of them are 100 percent and fully operational before we stick them back out there. But both of them are doing well and on schedule.”