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Newsstand: Photos from Michigan football's first 2025 spring practice

clayton-sayfieby:Clayton Sayfie•about 8 hours•

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Tweets Of The Day

Michigan football officially opened up spring practice by hitting the field on Tuesday. The Wolverines will go for four weeks until the April 19 spring game at The Big House.

Today was practice No. 1 for the Maize and Blue.

After 15 NFL seasons and winning two Super Bowls, including this past one over the Kansas City Chiefs, former Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham has retired from football. Graham spent his entire NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles. More from ESPN:

Graham, a first-round pick out of Michigan in 2010, spent his entire career in Philadelphia. He holds the team record for most regular-season games played (206) and is third all time in sacks (76.5). The two Lombardi Trophies he helped deliver were placed at either side of him as he emotionally read his farewell speech in the team’s auditorium, where family, friends, coaches and teammates gathered to honor him.

“You all know I gave everything I had in this,” said Graham, his voice breaking as he began to well up. “I don’t have no regrets.

“Fifteen years ago, I walked into this city as a young man with dreams — big dreams — a little bit of nervousness, and a whole lot of fire in my heart. I had no idea back then what this journey would bring. I didn’t know how many times I’d be tested, I didn’t know how much I would grow, and I sure didn’t know how deeply I would fall in love with these fans and the team and this city.”

His strip sack of Tom Brady in the closing moments of Super Bowl LII helped secure a narrow win over the New England Patriots and delivered the first Lombardi Trophy to the city of Philadelphia.

That elevated Graham to icon status in Philly and marked the pinnacle of his turnaround after he was labeled a bust early in his career following a slow start largely due to injuries.

Graham flashed a big smile when the play was brought up.

“That’s always going to be a good one. A Michigan guy against another Michigan guy,” he said. “It was a big moment in my career, and that’s where I felt like things started to get even better from that point on.”

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie praised Graham for the “many memorable moments” he provided the franchise and its fans.

“Brandon Graham is the embodiment of everything you want in a Philadelphia Eagle,” Lurie said in a statement. “…It was the way he played the game and the way he carried himself that earned him the love and respect of his coaches, teammates and fans.”

Michigan vs. Wisconsin was the most-watched Big Ten Tournament championship game since U-M vs. MSU in 2014, with 4.531 million viewers.

Quote Of The Day

“I feel really good about our depth overall as a defense. I said this today in a staff meeting — do we have any bona fide first-round picks? I’m not sure; we’ll wait and see how the season goes. But I know we’ve got some next day draft picks in there ready to go. I can say that right now confidently with the guys that we have, and we have more depth in every group.”

— Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale

Headlines Of The Day

• Clayton Sayfie, The Wolverine: Michigan coordinator Wink Martindale: ‘Definitely an expansion’ of Jaishawn Barham’s role, no surprise if Derrick Moore breaks out
• EJ Holland, The Wolverine: Wolverine TV: Will Michigan make NIL run at five-star OL Jackson Cantwell?
• Clayton Sayfie, The Wolverine: Michigan spring roster takeaways: Jersey numbers, heights, weights, more
• Chris Balas, The Wolverine: Michigan spring football: Defense has questions — what are the biggest?
• EJ Holland, The Wolverine: Midweek Visitors Preview: Michigan hosting talented group of elite recruits

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