Brandon Graham rumors: 5 best fits in NFL free agency
In a market where a ton of pass rushers are expected to draw the dreaded franchise tag, 30-year-old Brandon Graham could be in line for a huge payday.
While most of the top free agents on the board are edge rushers, the cream of the crop is not expected to actually make it to free agency. DeMarcus Lawrence, Dee Ford, Frank Clark, and Jadeveon Clowney are among the guys expected to get tagged if they don’t reach long term extensions with their current teams.
One man who should escape that fate is Brandon Graham, who is becoming a free agent at the right time. Graham’s former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, have major salary cap issues and may not be able to afford to use the tag on him.
The Eagles are also weighing use of the franchise tag on Nick Foles to control his rights for a potential trade, which would be another avenue to get Graham to free agency. Once Graham hits the open market, there should be plenty of teams lined up to hand him a lot of guaranteed money.
We have identified the five best fits for Graham, beginning with one of the Eagles’ biggest rivals.
5. New York Giants
The Giants have a lot of issues to address this offseason, but getting more pressure on the quarterback is a high priority. Olivier Vernon has been productive when healthy, but he has missed significant time in each of the past two years due to injury.
The Giants were also one of the worst teams in the league at rushing the passer last season, recording only 30 sacks over the course of 16 games. That mark was the second worst sack total in the league last season.
Vernon produced seven of those sacks, but the Giants could help his productivity by putting another top pass rusher opposite him. There is slight question of scheme fit with Graham, who played in a 4-3 with the Eagles while the Giants run a 3-4, meaning he would switch from defensive end to outside linebacker.
With the market not exactly full of edge rushers, the Giants could opt to splurge on Graham in the hopes of pairing him with Vernon to create a dynamic duo capable of terrorizing opposing quarterbacks. Taking Graham away from the Eagles would be an added bonus since it would weaken one of the Giants’ biggest rivals while helping them improve in the process.