Brandon Graham Returns to Eagles' Offseason Workouts, Releases Statement

Looks like that Brandon Graham holdout isn't coming anytime soon. 

The Eagles' defensive end returned to Philly and the Eagles' voluntary workout program this week. He even posted a video on Instagram stories to announce his return and another one later of him in what looked to be a special teams meeting. 

Then a few hours later, Graham tweeted a full statement: 

The only reason this is noteworthy is because of a Philadelphia Inquirer report that surfaced last week, saying Graham was set to stay away from Eagles OTAs and possibly mandatory minicamp because he was unhappy with his contract. On Tuesday, Graham told 94WIP's Howard Eskin that the report was "fake news." 

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Last week, a league source told CSNPhilly.com there was "no contract dispute" and Graham was in his hometown of Detroit, spending time with his family. That source was unable to say if Graham would be at the Eagles' OTAs when they kick off on May 23. 

But now it looks pretty likely he will be there. 

Graham, 29, is coming off the best year of his career and is set to make $6.5 million in 2017 and 2018, with cap hits of $7.5 million in both seasons, after signing a contract extension in 2015. 

Last week, head coach Doug Pederson said he was "not worried about [Graham] at all." 

"[Graham] and I have had a conversation as I do with a lot of the players," Pederson said. "Again, the expectation is, would I like him here? Yeah. Voluntary, I got it. That's the hardest part as a coach when you're working on that type of schedule. It's hard. At the same time, he's a guy who is a veteran player, understands his role, understands his assignment and expect big things from him this season."

While Graham will make $13 million over the next two years, he has outplayed underperforming Vinny Curry, who received a big contract last offseason and the Eagles also brought in Chris Long and drafted Derek Barnett this offseason. 

The first mandatory practices of the spring don't come until the minicamp June 12-15. 

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