Eagles Vic Fangio Laments Loss Of Brandon Graham, Assesses Field Of Replacements

The Phialdelphia Eagles will be without their veteran edge player after Brandon Graham tore a triceps Sunday night, so defensive coordinator Vic Fangio talked about who could take his place.

Vic Fangio addresses reporters before a Week 13 matchup vs. the Baltimore Ravens. / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA – The man most impacted by the loss of Brandon Graham is defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who spent the first few minutes of his weekly news conference fielding questions about the veteran defensive end, whose 15th season was cut short when he tore a triceps in Sunday night’s 37-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

It’s Fangio’s job to find a replacement who doesn’t hurt the team but helps as much as he can. Who will that be?

Fangio said it will be a committee approach.

“That’s what’s gonna happen,” he said on Wednesday as the Eagles (9-2) continue preparing for a Week 13 matchup against the Raven (8-4). “It’s gonna be a lot of guys picking up his load that he’s been playing. It won’t be one guy.”

Fangio said replacing Graham won’t be easy.

“It’s part of the game, but I hate losing him for a lot of reasons,” he sad. “One, it might be his last year. Two, his leadership. But most importantly, he was playing really good, and guys playing really good are hard to replace.”

Fangio would like to see Graham rethink his retirement plan.

“He can’t retire on an incomplete year,” he said, adding that he hasn’t told Graham that, yet, but will.

Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham (55) walks off the field after win against the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

So, what might a committee look like? Could the new guy, Charles Harris, who was signed on Tuesday, find a way into the rotation? Fangio knows nothing about him, saying he hasn’t watched him.

“Hoping to find out here soon,” he said, referring to the practice following his presser. “You gotta cram like some of us used to do for exams and you gotta put in a lot of extra time and get him on the practice field and get him rolling to see how quickly he picks things up.”

What about Tarron Jackson, the Eagles’ sixth-round pick in 2021 who left and is back and on the practice squad?

“He’s basically the same guy that left here and came back,” said the DC. “He’s a possibility too, for sure.”

Could Milton Williams slide outside from his D-tackle post?

“He could,” said Fangio. “Not a steady diet, though.”

How about rookie Jalyx Hunt? Surely, he will be in the mix, and Fangio said a much.

“He’s been getting better,” he said. “He hurt his ankle two weeks ago against Washington. He wasn’t fully healthy last week. He was healthy enough to play but hopefully he’ll be better this week because we’ll need him to step up.”

What we won’t see is linebacker Zack Baun, who has experience as an edge rusher, moving down and possibly inserting Jeremiah Trotter, Jr., Ben VanSumeren, or Oren Burks.

“I don’t want to weaken another position,” said the DC. “If you cannot make too many changes for one player missing that’s better.”

Fangio thinks Nolan Smith will see an increase in snaps. Smith has played 44 percent of the snaps so far this season.

“I didn’t know what my expectations were (at the start of the season) because he didn’t really play a lot last year, but I do think he’s played well,” he said, “and a credit to him that he’s kept improving, too.”

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