Eagles Fill James Bradberry's Roster Spot With Recently Cut Veteran Defender

The Philadelphia Eagles were dealt with some terrible news on Thursday as veteran defensive back James Bradberry will miss the next 6-8 weeks because of a lower leg injury he suffered in practice on Wednesday.

With Bradberry out for the next month or two, Eagles fans wondered what the team would do to replace the veteran defender on the 53-man roster. 

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Philadelphia promoted veteran linebacker Oren Burks to the active roster and placed Bradberry on injured reserve. The Eagles also signed backup offensive lineman Brett Toth to the practice squad.

The 29-year-old Burks was a part of the Eagles’ final cuts ahead of Tuesday’s roster deadline but was signed to the practice squad on Wednesday. The veteran linebacker signed a one-year deal with the Eagles in the offseason after spending the last two years with the San Francisco 49ers.

In his two-year stint with the 49ers, Burks had 84 combined tackles, four tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, 1.5 sacks, and an interception in 32 games (eight starts). Last season in San Francisco, the veteran linebacker produced 46 combined tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, a quarterback hit, and an interception.

Burks made five starts in 2023 for the 49ers’ defense but played 34 percent of defensive and 42 percent of special teams snaps.

Heading into Week 1 of the 2024 season, the 6-foot-3 linebacker will likely see some snaps on defense, but a majority of his snaps will come on special teams.

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