The picture of the Philadelphia Eagles’ pass rush is looking pretty mixed bag ahead of the Week 8 matchup. Philly is sitting near the bottom of the league in sacks. Za’Darius Smith shocked everyone with his retirement, and injuries have hit their edge rushers hard. Clearly, someone needed to step up, even if it meant calling a retired player back into action.

Enter Brandon Graham, who’s now making his return to the Eagles months after announcing he was done. Which naturally raises a question: Can he actually revive this bruised-up pass rush, or is it too little, too late? Well, as things stand, the veteran DE might struggle to fill that void. The reasons, however, are plenty.

For starters, the 37-year-old surely notched 20 total pressures over 168 pass-rushing snaps last season. However, he tore his triceps in November and played with it in Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs. Fast forward to now, and he’s returning to add depth to the bruised pass rush.

“I’m coming back, baby. I’m excited,” Graham said, announcing his return from retirement. “No expectations. Just excited to get after it. Of course, I believe in the team. That’s a big part of it, too. I know they’ve got everything that they need. Just can’t wait to add a little more.”

But the Eagles might need more than experience and leadership from the 37-year-old. After all, Smith has already hung up his cleats, and Azeez Ojulari tweaked his hamstring against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7.

But the injury bug just won’t stop biting here. Besides Ojulari’s hamstring injury, Nolan Smith is still on IR and is expected to miss out on the Week 8 matchup against the New York Giants. To add fuel to the fire, Ogbo Okoronkwo has been ruled out for the rest of the season following a triceps injury in Week 4 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Long story short: The Eagles’ pass rush, featuring Graham, Jalyx Hunt, Joshua Uche, Ojulari, and Patrick Johnson, looks solid. But don’t be surprised if Philly still pulls the trigger on a trade to boost that pass rush even more amid multiple injuries.

Eagles could add another pass rusher after Brandon Graham’s return

Through seven weeks into the 2025 season, the Eagles ranked 29th in sack percentage (4.3%) and 26th in sacks (11.0). To put that in perspective, Philly’s edge rushers generated just 3.5 sacks. The sack leader, Za’Darius Smith (1.5 sacks), has already hung up his cleats. And that means only one thing: The current edge rushers in Philly have combined for just two sacks this season.

Brandon Graham’s return certainly adds some much-needed depth to the Eagles’ pass rush, but don’t be surprised if Nick Sirianni and the staff still look to make an edge addition through a trade. For starters, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has plenty of experience working with the Miami Dolphins‘ edge rushers like Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips.

On top of that, the New York Jets‘ edge rusher Jermaine Johnson II is heating up the trade market. Nothing’s set in stone yet, but with the November 4 trade deadline looming, adding a player like him could give Philly’s struggling pass rush the boost it desperately needs. That said, the Eagles are currently 5-2 and will face the Giants in Week 8 before their Week 9 bye.