Corey Dewayne Graham (born July 25, 1985) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who played

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

and

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

New Hampshire Wildcats The New Hampshire Wildcats, or 'Cats, are the College athletics in the United States, American intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of New Hampshire (UNH), located in Durham, New Hampshire, Durham. The Bobcat, wildcat is the ...

and was selected by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He also played for the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. Graham was a one-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

selection and two-time

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

champion.

College career

Graham attended the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

, where he played for the

New Hampshire Wildcats football The New Hampshire Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of New Hampshire. The Wildcats compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Coastal A ...

team. He later earned

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from Kelley School of Business at

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

Professional career

Chicago Bears

The

selected Graham in the fifth round (168th overall) of the 2007 NFL draft. He was the 17th cornerback drafted in 2007. On May 22, 2007, the Chicago Bears signed Graham to a four-year, $1.81 million contract that included a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $149,500. In 2008, Graham started at cornerback alongside longtime Bear Charles Tillman. Graham registered his first career

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

on October 19, 2008, off of

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

quarterback Gus Frerotte. Graham also recorded 91 tackles in the 2008 season. Graham was selected to his first

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

after a season in which he recorded 16 total tackles, deflected three passes, forced a fumble, and caught three interceptions.

Baltimore Ravens

Graham signed with the

on March 23, 2012. Graham said that upon signing with the Ravens, he looked to see more time on defense, as well as continuing his solid special teams play. Corey Graham Ravens

Graham had a limited role on defense at first, but injuries to Lardarius Webb and Jimmy Smith helped earn him more playing time. Graham was named the CBS player of the game for the Baltimore Ravens' 2012 Divisional round playoff game against the top seeded

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. In this game, Graham intercepted two

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the In ...

passes and made 8 tackles. Graham returned his first interception of the game 39 yards for a touchdown, giving the Ravens a 14–7 lead midway through the first quarter. Graham's second interception of the game occurred in overtime and led to a Ravens game-winning field goal, advancing the team to the AFC championship game. The Ravens entered the game as 9.5 point underdogs, but won the game in double overtime, 38–35, thanks in part to Graham's performance. Graham would call joining the Ravens the second best decision of his life, behind marrying his wife. Graham earned his first Super Bowl ring on February 3, 2013, when the Ravens defeated the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

Buffalo Bills

On March 12, 2014, Graham signed a four-year, $16 million contract with the

. He contributed as a cornerback and on special teams during his first season on the team before being moved to the starting safety position under head coach Rex Ryan. On March 10, 2017, Graham was released by the Bills after the team signed Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.

Philadelphia Eagles

On August 3, 2017, Graham signed a one-year contract with the

reuniting him with former teammates Torrey Smith and Dannell Ellerbe. Graham won his second Super Bowl ring when the Eagles defeated the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

41-33 in Super Bowl LII with Graham recording five tackles. Coincidentally, both that game and the other Super Bowl he was part of the winning team on, XLVII, were two of only three Super Bowls in NFL history where both teams recorded at least 30 points, the other being XIII between the Cowboys and Steelers. On August 5, 2018, Graham re-signed with the Eagles on a one-year deal.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bio

Baltimore Ravens bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Corey 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Buffalo, New York American football cornerbacks New Hampshire Wildcats football players Chicago Bears players Baltimore Ravens players Buffalo Bills players Philadelphia Eagles players National Conference Pro Bowl players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Kelley School of Business alumni Indiana University Bloomington alumni