Back in February, Eagles linebacker/defensive end Brandon Graham said he was pushing for an extension on his contract. Now on the cusp of his walk year, Graham says he is willing to play out the final year of his deal (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer). 
In 2017, Graham racked up a career high 9.5 sacks to go along with 47 total tackles. He also graded out as the eighth-best edge defender in the NFL with a 91.6 overall score from Pro Football Focus, nearly matching his 93.9 grade from 2016. Presumably, Graham is looking for a contract that will reflect his performance as one of the league’s top defensive ends.
Last year, the Eagles rewarded Graham with an extra $1.5MM in incentives for the final two years of his deal as a showing of good faith. His next deal will probably require a more substantial bump. Graham’s $8MM cap number for 2018, which ranks just 15th amongst 4-3 DEs in the NFL.
After dealing with a serious cap crunch this offseason, the Eagles will be wary of overextending themselves on a new deal for Graham. At the same time, they’ll run the risk of Graham pricing himself out of their range if he turns in another excellent season. In March, the Eagles watched defensive end Vinny Curry sign a three-year, $23MM free agent deal with the Bucs. Though Curry is a solid player in his own right, Graham stands to command considerably higher offers if he reaches the open market.
Next year will probably be the year Jason Peters and the Eagles go their separate ways. That should give some cushion. I really don’t see a benefit from letting him walk for nothing. I’m sure a deal gets done and Foles and Peters won’t be on the roster next year making room for cap space.
I think they move on next year. They will get a compensation pick most likely. They will need all that cap space to pay for Carson Wentz, 20M 5th ur option, then 30+M.
They drafted replacements so I definitely see Graham walking. He’s done well the past couple years but also did little early on when he was highly paid. Take the compensation pick Philly!