Philadelphia, PA – July 14, 2025
When the Eagles hit training camp this month, something will be missing — and every fan will feel it. For the first time in nearly 15 years, No. 55 won’t be suiting up. That jersey number has been more than fabric; it’s been a force, a presence, a heartbeat on defense.
But just because the locker isn’t filled doesn’t mean the leadership is gone. That voice — the one fans have trusted for over a decade — is still speaking. Just not from the field.
He’s not in the huddle. Not in the defensive line drills. But he’s everywhere else. Appearing on Gallen of Questions, the longtime defensive anchor made it clear: the job isn’t done. The fire hasn’t faded. And his belief in the Eagles’ chance to run it back? Stronger than ever.
That man is Brandon Graham.
And what he said might just be the message every fan needed to hear.
“Why can’t they do it again?” Graham asked. “They’ve got the leaders in the room. They’ve handled adversity. Now they just have to handle success.”
Graham knows that challenge better than most. After helping bring Philadelphia its first-ever Super Bowl title in the 2017 season, he returned with the team in 2018 only to watch the struggle unfold. The hangover was real. A team once riding high found itself scraping through the Wild Card round before falling in the Divisional.
So when Graham heard Nick Sirianni’s viral message this offseason, it wasn’t just coach-speak — it was a warning he wished he’d had back then.
“The celebration is over. Preparation is here,” Sirianni declared. “Last year, we talked a lot about handling adversity. Now it’s different. You’ve got to handle success. That’s a different animal. Treat praise like perfume. Sniff it. Don’t drink it. It’s poison.”
For Graham, that struck a nerve — in all the right ways.
“I already love how Coach Sirianni is talking about perfume, where it smells great, but don’t drink it — it’s poison,” Graham said. “And winning? We won the Super Bowl, it’s great. But to think that you're going to do it again without working like you did, that’s a poisonous mindset.”
Graham isn’t just echoing Sirianni’s words — he’s lived them. And now, with his playing days behind him, he’s using his platform to pass that mindset forward. His advice to the current team? Stay hungry. Stay uncomfortable. And don’t let the shine of a Lombardi blind you from the grind ahead.
“You just have to stay uncomfortable,” he said. “Toss satisfaction aside. That’s how you keep going.”
The Eagles may be down one legendary voice in pads, but they’ve gained one in spirit. Graham’s message isn’t about the past — it’s a blueprint for the future.
And Philly fans know it: the climb is only just beginning.
Stay tuned to ESPN for more stories from the heart of the game.
