The Comeback Story
The news of Brandon Graham's return to Philadelphia for one more run is the latest example of the comeback story, one of the most compelling narratives in sport. The 37-year-old and 2010 first-rounder played his entire career with the Eagles and won two Super Bowls. He retired last spring a champion—the dream of most players. The 2025 Eagles have struggled to replace him with younger players at defensive end, so he returns to a team that may yet have the horses for another run in a league without a clear-cut front-runner.
37 year old Brandon Graham is returning to the Eagles for season No. 16.
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) October 21, 2025
BG says his tricep is "fully healed" and he's "all in." BG adds that his legacy will be about winning Super Bowls and nobody remembers that Tom Brady came out of retirement. pic.twitter.com/FEpiEFtG0t
His return is not unprecedented. Tight end Darren Waller came out of retirement to join the Dolphins this year.
The in-season return is rarer. Eric Weddle came out of retirement to join the Rams for their Super Bowl run. The Rams' safety group was decimated by injury at the end of the 2021 season.
The idea of the "comeback," however, seems ever-expanding. Perhaps the Associated Press's "NFL Comeback Player of the Year" contributes. The AP honored Joe Burrow with it last year after he missed seven games at the end of the 2023 season due to a wrist injury.
Joe Flacco lost his job to an ascending Lamar Jackson in 2018 and devolved to journeyman status. In spot starts for his fourth NFL team, he quarterbacked the Browns to wins in four of five games to conclude the 2023 season. The Browns were promptly drummed out of the playoffs, but the berth itself was enough to earn Flacco NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors from the Associated Press.
Simply "coming back" from the bench to win the award wasn't unprecedented either. Ryan Tannehill started 151 games in his career. Spending six games on the Titans' bench behind Marcus Mariota qualified him for the award in 2018.
With this low bar, several quarterbacks have mounted comebacks similar to those of Flacco and Tannehill in just the past couple of seasons. Daniel Jones, Sam Darnold, and Baker Mayfield resemble Flacco and Tannehill in that all are former first-round picks who bounced back from lost jobs. Similarly, Jared Goff has thrived in a second chance as an NFL starting quarterback, albeit while never playing second string. Geno Smith, the 39th pick of the 2013 NFL draft, was written off (by fantasy gamers and others) but famously "didn't write back."
"They wrote me off, but I didn't write back." -Geno Smith, during his postgame interview
— Rich Ohrnberger (@ohrnberger) September 13, 2022
Smith: 23/26, 195 yd, 2TD/0INT
pic.twitter.com/IyltPn1KQO
These quarterbacks' stories are some of the most riveting in football over the past couple of seasons. Their trajectories are also characteristic of players at other positions.
The Year of Devin
Devin White was a five-year starter in Tampa Bay who never quite lived up to his first-round draft pick status. He endured a lost 2024 season in which he was cut by the Eagles in September. The Texans then picked him up and deployed him in a small, rotational role.
The Raiders allowed both of their starting inside linebackers to depart in free agency last spring. They hosted an open competition among several seasoned veterans. White not only emerged as a starter but also became the one full-time linebacker in Las Vegas. The zone-heavy defense has propelled White into the top five fantasy linebackers in all formats.
Like White, Devin Bush was drafted in the first round of the 2019 draft. Bush finished third in AP Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. A torn ACL in 2020 accelerated Bush's fall from favor. The Steelers diminished his role each year and allowed him to walk at the end of his rookie contract. Bush spent a year as a reserve in Seattle before working his way into the lineup in Cleveland. He's playing his best football as the run-and-chase weakside linebacker in Jim Schwartz's aggressive scheme.
Bush is playing 81 percent of the Browns' defensive snaps as their LB2. He's also a fantasy LB2 through seven weeks of 2025.
Both White and Bush are still just 27 years old. If they can stay healthy and maintain their current roles, they will re-establish themselves as dynasty assets for IDP gamers.
Devin Lloyd was drafted three years later than White and Bush, yet Lloyd is also 27. The Jaguars selected Lloyd in the first round in 2022. Now playing for his third defensive coordinator in four seasons, Lloyd opened 2025 as a rotational player; however, he's found himself in Anthony Campanile's defense. His coverage skills have finally developed, as evidenced by his huge interception return for six against the Chiefs in prime time, his league-leading fourth pick.
All three Devins will be back on the market in March 2026 for unrestricted free agency, provided none signs an extension beforehand. Dynasty gamers should monitor the contracts they sign to adjust their expectations for each player.
First-Round Draft Capital
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