Vic Fangio breaks down how Eagles plan to replace Brandon Graham

Vic Fangio breaks down how Eagles plan to replace Brandon Graham originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

After Brandon Graham was lost for the rest of the season with a torn triceps on Sunday, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio thinks Graham has one more year left in him.

“I do,” Fangio said. “He can’t retire on an incomplete year.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Fangio hadn’t yet relayed that message to the 36-year-old Graham but said he planned to.

While Graham’s future is up in the air, there’s no question the Eagles will miss him the rest of the 2024 season. Not only is Graham the longest-tenured player on the team and a locker room leader, but he was playing really well this season.

So how do the Eagles replace him?

“Just by committee,” Fangio said on Wednesday. “Really, that’s what’s going to happen. It’s going to be a lot of guys picking up his load that he’s been playing and it won’t be one guy.”

In 11 games this season, Graham played 311 snaps (46%) and now those snaps will have to get divvied up among other players. As a reminder, Bryce Huff will be out at least three more weeks after having wrist surgery.

Fangio on Wednesday was asked about every possibility, including the four edge rushers on the 53-man roster and more:

Josh Sweat

Sweat has been the Eagles’ top edge rusher all season. He has played 429 snaps (63%) and leads the team in sacks (7) and QB hits (13).

Last season, Sweat played 71% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps but ended up struggling down the stretch, so it might make sense to not overload him.

“I see his workload pretty much staying the same as it’s been,” Fangio said.

Nolan Smith

The Eagles’ other starter is Smith, a second-year player out of Georgia. The 2023 first-round pick has played in all 11 games and has started 5. He took over that starting job from Huff a while back.

After a somewhat disappointing rookie season, Smith has been much better in Year 2. He has played 299 snaps (44%) and has 3 1/2…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/vic-fangio-breaks-down-eagles-120000390.html

Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-11-28 12:00:00

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