Author: nfltalk

PHILADELPHIA — The real-life Rocky Balboa played in a Philadelphia Eagles uniform for 15 years. 

Brandon Graham was doubted. He was known for being the player the Eagles didn’t take over the ones they should have. He wasn’t Earl Thomas or Jason Pierre-Paul, the two players selected after him that had immediate success in the league. 

Instead, Graham was a player not living up to expectations. He was underperforming, often injured, and couldn’t get an opportunity to prove himself on the field. The 2010 first-round draft pick was lost, confused, and simply failed to earn playing time to be a consistent regular. 

The bust label was already written for Graham, who had just 8.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in three seasons. His performance was simply not good enough for a player selected in the first round.

Most teams would have moved on. Not the Eagles, who gave a player most teams would have moved on from another chance to succeed. 

Like Rocky, Graham didn’t deserve that chance. It took one coach to make sure he kept having one — Andy Reid. 

“You were the first to bring me here,” an emotional Graham said in his retirement speech. “The first to look me in my eye and tell me I belong. That moment changed everything for me. I will always be grateful for that.”

Even though the Eagles moved on from Reid, the belief was still there Graham could make it in the NFL. He even underwent a position change to linebacker in a defense that didn’t fit his game to stick around, playing out of position but doing everything he was asked to do just to remain in Philadelphia. 

Brandon Graham retires: Here’s what sealed his decision to walk away after 15 seasons with Eagles

Jeff Kerr

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The Lions re-signed a couple of their free agents on Tuesday.

The team announced that they have agreed to new deals with running back Craig Reynolds and defensive lineman Pat O’Connor.

Reynolds spent time with Washington, Jacksonville, and Atlanta before landing with the Lions in 2021. He played in 14 games in 2021 and 2022, but has played in every game over the last two seasons.

Reynolds has 150 carries for 650 yards and a touchdown to go with 24 catches for 255 yards during his time in Detroit. He has also been a regular on special teams.

O’Connor had 18 tackles and a sack in 12 games for the Lions last season. He appeared in 68 games for the Buccaneers over his first six seasons.

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The Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles continue to reward their own this offseason. They had already re-signed running back Saquon Barkley and linebacker Zack Baun, and on Monday, they re-upped with their six-time Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson. 

Johnson, who earned both a Pro Bowl selection and second-team All-Pro nod at the age of 34 in 2024, redid his contract with Philadelphia to tack on an extra $8 million across 2025 and 2026 as well as an extra $30 million in guarantees, per ESPN. Johnson now stands to receive $48 million across 2025 and 2026, $40 million of which is guaranteed. He also added another season to the pact for $25 million in 2027.

The Eagles redid Johnson’s deal because he was slated to have $10 million in guaranteed salary for 2025 and none for 2026, the previous final year of his contract. 

Johnson played high-level football in 2024, not allowing a sack in addition to just giving up one quarterback hit and six quarterback pressures. Even more impressive about those numbers was his 75% island rate, which led the NFL. Island rate is the amount of snaps a lineman is left one-on-one with a defensive lineman when their quarterback drops back to pass, so for Johnson to receive the fewest blocking help in the league and still put up those numbers is significant. 

Blocking for the 2024 NFL rushing champion and Offensive Player of the Year in Barkley also certainly helped Johnson’s contract negotiations. 

2025 NFL free agency: Eagles signing former Giants pass rusher Azeez Ojulari

Bryan DeArdo

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SYRACUSE — It’s been 15 months since Kyle McCord transferred from Ohio State, and in that time he’s gone from afterthought in Columbus to the most important player in Syracuse’s 10-win season under first-year head coach Fran Brown.

On Monday, the Orange held its pro day and McCord, who set the ACC passing record with 4,779 yards last season (to go along with 34 touchdowns), picked up right where he left off in the fall. His throws were crisp, accurate, and often thrown with anticipation. And while every quarterback drafted can make “every NFL throw,” McCord shines on intermediate routes, when he can fit the ball into a small window, and also has the touch to consistently layer balls over second-level defenders.

It’s always dangerous to put too much stock into a pro-day performance; we saw that back in 2014 with Johnny Manziel, and more recently with Zach Wilson. But McCord just reconfirmed what we all saw in 2024 — that sometimes, players need a change of scenery to get the most out of their abilities. And for McCord, that was leaving Columbus for Syracuse, where he was the unquestioned No. 1 from Day 1, and he consistently reconfirmed his place atop the depth chart each week.

That said, there were some bumps in the road. Obviously, his 2023 season didn’t go as he had planned, and it prompted his decision to transfer. There was also that game last fall, the five-interception performance on the road against Pittsburgh. Not surprisingly, McCord was asked about it by some NFL teams at the NFL Scouting Combine.

“I had a meeting and I walked in and right away I saw a clip from the Pitt game,” McCord told CBS Sports at the combine. “I already knew the direction that meeting was going, but honestly, teams like to talk about it and looking back on it, obviously it wasn’t a fun game, but I’m glad I went through it.

“You’re going to have bad games and how do you respond? I feel like…

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The Dolphins are adding a former first-round pick.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Miami has agreed to a one-year deal with cornerback Artie Burns.

Burns, 29, spent the last three seasons with the Seahawks. He appeared in just four games last season, playing 51 defensive snaps and 55 special teams snaps. In 2023, he played 14 contests, playing 23 percent of defensive snaps and 46 percent of special teams snaps in games played.

The Steelers selected Burns at No. 25 overall in the 2016 draft. He’s played 90 games with 39 starts over his career, recording 38 passes defensed and four interceptions.

A South Florida native, Burns also played his college ball at Miami.

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