Graham has got to stick to his word and get in camp.


Every year there are rookies, mostly first-round picks, arriving late to Training Camp. But this season, the amount of rookies missing camp is outrageous.

There are not only first-round picks missing, but there are second and third-round guys missing time as well, even though there's very little negotiating involved in their contracts. The league is in a period of uncertainty with CBA talks ongoing, but that's still no excuse for the logjam.

Everyone, including Brandon Graham's agent Joel Segal, is waiting for the guys ahead and behind them to sign before they even throw out a first number. But if everyone takes this approach, how is anyone going to ever sign?

And last I checked, isn't it the agent's job to negotiate a deal for these guys? If all they're going to do is find middle ground between the guy ahead and behind their pick, why would the players even hire an agent? Any moron can figure out the difference and sign the deal without having to pay someone else an ungodly percentage.

The point is that if these agents want paid, why not make them actually do their job?

But, instead, the agents have these players convinced that they're the boss. These players work under the false assumption that they should blindly follow whatever the agent says because it's in his best interest.

The reality of the situation, however, is that these agents are looking out for themselves and how they can squeeze the most money for them out of a deal. They don't care whether or not their guy misses two days, two weeks, or two months. As long as they're getting the highest dollar amount possible when all is said and done, they're happy.

What the players have to understand is that these agents can do this forever, and there will always be another high-profile guy. For the players, they only have one go at this and have to play as well as they possibly can if they want to see a second contract.

The agents don't have that concern, so they're working a different angle entirely.

And from the looks of it, someone needs to grab Brandon Graham, smack him upside the head a few times, and drive that point home. Segal could care less that Graham is falling behind the competition while he misses camp. Once Graham signs that deal, Segal has made his money and that's that.

But for Graham, the hard work is only beginning. He's going to need every practice he can get to gain an edge on the guys ahead and around him. For now, Juqua Parker is the guy until someone unseats him. And if Graham thinks he's done that just by being a first-round pick then he's sadly mistaken.

Andy Reid could care less where you were picked. If Graham can't understand the defense and isn't up to snuff by the end of the preseason, he won't see the field. Reid did it in 2006 with Brodrick Bunkley, and he'd surely do it again with Graham.

It's out of the Eagles' hands. It's up to Graham to realize he must be in camp, and stick to his promise to avoid a lengthy holdout. Because if he doesn't, guys like Parker, Darryl Tapp, Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, and Ricky Sapp would be more than happy to take his snaps during camp, preseason, and from September onward.