Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham (55) reacts after sacking Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford during the first half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

It was a great Sunday night with the Eagles’ seventh straight win, a 37-20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams that featured Saquon Barkley’s record-breaking night — until  news broke that defensive end, team captain and longest-tenured Bird Brandon Graham is likely out for the rest of the season with a torn triceps.

Graham went on WIP-FM for his regular Monday show, and again Tuesday morning to give emotional updates on his injury status and changing role for the rest of the season. He also said he hopes to have surgery for the injury next week.

 A 2010 draft pick, his 15 seasons with the Eagles is best highlighted — and memorialized by many — by the strip sack of Tom Brady to help clinch the team’s first Super Bowl title in 2017 (LII). Graham had a sack Sunday that moved into third all-time in sacks for the Eagles on Sunday with 76.5, behind only Trent Cole and Reggie White. He had been having one of his best seasons ever.

Beyond his play, Graham has been a team captain the past six seasons and a leader who mentored others for longer than that. His reaction in the clubhouse, where he was the one sharing that his season was over, is as good an explanation as any for why he is special.

“I’m just trying to process everything right now,” he said on Sunday. “I ain’t got that far. But, I’m going to keep my spirits up, keep enjoying it, because we’ve got a special team right now.

“At the end of the day, if I had to go out like this, I love the way I gave it everything out there on the field. All I know is they ain’t done with me yet. I’m going to make sure I go out there and be the best leader I can be, like I always do.”

Quarterback Jalen Hurts gave his reaction to the bad news after the game (H/T Eliot Shorr-Parks).

“We’ll sure as heck miss him,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said in a Tuesday press conference. “I know one thing about BG is that — the play, like I said, speaks for itself —- the leadership is very special … And BG is going to be around, he’s going to be still leading.”   

NFL Productions posted its feature interview on Graham Monday morning in tribute.

Graham, 36, said at the start of the season that this will be his last, but seemed to have been rethinking that as he and the team put up impressive performances this year. Obviously, the thought that Graham’s career would end like this had many on the internet feeling some mix of dejection, nostalgia, and hope.

Nick Kariuki is Billy Penn’s trending news reporter. A graduate of the University of Virginia and Medill’s MSJ program at Northwestern University, Nick was previously a sportswriter for outlets such...