The news could have been worse — a lot worse.
Yes, rookie Brandon Graham is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. He’ll undergo surgery and be placed on injured reserve. However, starting middle linebacker Stewart Bradley won’t need surgery on his dislocated right elbow, according to coach Andy Reid. There’s a chance Bradley could return in a couple of weeks.
When Bradley exited Sunday night’s game, rookie Jamar Chaney took over at middle linebacker. But don’t read too much into that just yet.
“No. I just really haven’t had a chance to talk to [defensive coordinator] Sean [McDermott] about it,” said Reid, when asked if Chaney was his starter moving forward. “So I don’t want to tell you one way or another. But I will tell you he played pretty good.”
Veteran Omar Gaither is listed as Bradley’s backup on the team’s depth chart, but he was inactive Sunday. Chaney, who registered seven tackles against Dallas, knows nothing will be handed to him. Either way, he’ll be ready to go.
“When you get your shot, you’ve got to make sure you go in there and do the job,” Chaney said. “If you don’t do the job in the NFL, they are going to get somebody else to do it.”
