Procedural move.
Brandon Graham already made it known that he was retiring from the NFL back in mid-March but it wasn’t until today that the paperwork was filed.
The Philadelphia Eagles officially placed BG on the reserve/retired list on Monday, according to the league’s official transactions notice.
Why the wait?
Short answer: cap ramifications.
Longer answer: when a player retires before their contract expires, it’s essentially handled like a team cutting a player. The Eagles wanted to wait until after June 1 to effectively “cut” Graham because it spreads his remaining dead cap number of about $9 million between 2025 and 2026, as opposed to taking it all on in 2025.
As a result of this move, the Eagles now clear $1.25 million in cap space. It’s one of their multiple post-June 1 maneuvers that are opening up cap space for them to either help improve the 2025 roster or roll over for 2026 and beyond.
Another benefit to BG’s retirement becoming official is that it opens up a spot on the 90-man offseason roster. The Eagles already filled that by signing undrafted rookie free agent Marcus Tate. The Birds will open up another roster spot when the Bryce Huff trade likely becomes official this week.
While we’ve already had time to celebrate and reflect on BG’s career, it’s always a good time to point out that he’s an absolute legend who could go down in history as the greatest Eagle ever. At the very least, one of the most beloved. Here’s to the two-time Super Bowl champ!
