Graham, team’s longest-tenured player, knows Wentz’s pain
If anyone on the Eagles can sympathize with Carson Wentz right now, it’s Brandon Graham, the club’s longesttenured player.
Drafted in the first round in 2010, Graham has been relegated to bench player a time or two while playing under three head coaches in his 11-year career with the organization. He’s been cast aside for younger players and called a first-round bust, but always finds a way to prove doubters wrong. This Sunday against New Orleans, Graham will set the franchise record for most games played (156) by a defensive player.
So, what advice does Graham have for Wentz, the Birds’ new backup quarterback?
“First, try not to worry what people are going to say because only you know what’s going on and how you fix it,” Graham said Thursday morning. “And how you fix it is really working on the things that you need to get better at and the things that tend to come up all the time. So for me, it’s I need to get off the ball faster and I need to start doing that for myself. Continue to keep on working hard. Continue to keep on building at where you’re weak at. You definitely know you can get to where you used to be.
“There’s a lot of confidence that we all still have in Carson. We’ve seen it. We know it’s just on him to go out and keep working like he does. So, don’t worry about what the naysayers say. It doesn’t matter because you’re the one who can change what people are saying by how you work. That’s what kept me here, how hard I worked and how hard I tried to flip that negative and turn it into a positive.”
Although Graham remains firmly in the corner of Wentz, he acknowledged that change happens for a reason when you’re on a bad team. Eagles coach Doug Pederson announced Tuesday that rookie Jalen Hurts would make his first start quarterback
Graham has liked what he’s seen from Hurts during the practice week. After replacing Wentz in the third quarter of Sunday’s 30-16 loss in Green Bay,
Hurts jolted a stagnate Birds offense, completing 5 of 12 passing attempts for 142 yards and a touchdown to Greg Ward on 4th-and-16. The second-round draft pick displayed an ability to scramble and elude a pass rush, something Wentz has struggled with all year.
“It looks good, you know, and you can see his confidence out there as he’s ... focusing in on the game now,” Graham said. “You can see a new focus, he looks like he’s having fun. A lot of guys are supporting him and going out there we got a lot of energy. I think that’s a good thing, especially in the state of where we are right now. I can just see his confidence growing as we go.”
As one of the unquestioned leaders of the locker room, Graham realizes part of his responsibility is to ensure that Hurts has support from every player on the roster. That includes Wentz, whom Graham sees as the ultimate team player despite his recent demotion.
“We know who are teammates are and I know who Carson is and I know Carson is going to be a great teammate, he’s going to work hard, he’s going to support what’s going on and that’s Jalen right now,” Graham said. “We’re going to stick by Carson because we still believe in both quarterbacks. You’ve got Jalen who’s going to get a good opportunity for himself and it’s a good opportunity, like coach said, he’s going to give us a spark. And we’re going to go with whatever’s best for the team. It’s all supportive, we all talk to each other, and I
don’t see us being divisive at all. We just have to make sure we continue to have a good support system for both parties, Carson and Jalen.”
Graham became the go-to leader of the defense after the departure of Pro Bowl safety Malcolm Jenkins following the 2019 season. Jenkins returns to Philly Sunday afternoon for the first time since he re-signed with the Saints, with whom he spent the first five years of his career.
Make no mistake, Graham said the Eagles miss Jenkins, both for his talent and leadership qualities.
“Jenk, he’s a guy you who definitely miss and hope to have him for a long time,” Graham said. “... I know for us this year, we had to step our game up even more because Malcolm was a guy that when you were losing that you depended on to start, especially in the back end. He was a good tackler, he was physical, he was always out here. He did a lot of things and he can play any position. So, when you lose a guy like that it’s hard to replace them.
“I’m happy that he’s with the Saints, I’m happy that things are going good for him but we got our own thing going on here. Every year is a different team and every year you’ve got to find togetherness. We’ve been doing that, we’ve shown flashes on defense, but we have to stay consistent with everything. I feel like as long as we keep working it’s going to happen and it can happen this week.”