PHILADELPHIA -- Veteran defensive end Brandon Graham has agreed to terms on a one-year deal to stay with the Eagles, declining to enter free agency out of loyalty to the organization, he told ESPN on Friday.
The deal is worth up to $6 million, according to a source.
Graham, 34, is coming off a career year in which he posted a personal-best 11 sacks while adding 16 quarterback hits, helping the Eagles to a 14-3 record and their second Super Bowl appearance during his time in Philadelphia.
He was expected to garner interest in free agency next week, including from the Cleveland Browns, sources said, but ultimately chose to pass that opportunity up.
"I definitely don't want to miss out on this championship that we're about to make a run for," Graham told ESPN. "I pretty much directed [my agent] Joel [Segal] just to get a deal done before free agency so I wouldn't have to go through that part. I'm just so happy everything came to fruition.
"It wasn't even about no money. It was more about wanting to be an Eagle as long as I could still play at a high level, and of course I still have a sour taste in my mouth on how things ended this last year [with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl]."
Graham is currently the longest-tenured member of the Eagles. He has appeared in 178 regular-season games for Philadelphia, and now has an opportunity to pass kicker David Akers (188) for most regular-season games played in an Eagles uniform.
Graham is the author of the most consequential play in franchise history -- a strip sack of Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII that helped deliver Philadelphia its first and only Lombardi Trophy.
His 70 career sacks are the fourth most in team history, trailing only Reggie White (124), Trent Cole (85.5) and Clyde Simmons (76).
