James Bradberry Makes Last-Ditch Effort to Stay With Eagles
By Cem Yolbulan
The Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry was considered a likely cut this offseason. The former Pro Bowler had an awful season in 2023 and was one of the biggest reasons the Eagles had one of the worst pass defenses in the league. After the Eagles drafted Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean to boost their cornerback rotation, there was a widespread expectation that Bradberry would be released.
Instead, the Eagles are considering a position change for the 30-year-old. The latest report out of the Eagles' offseason workouts is that Bradberry has been putting in work at safety.
Eagles News: James Bradberry Switches to Safety in Offseason Workouts
An interesting experiment for the Eagles to get some work in for James Bradberry at safety this offseason.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) June 4, 2024
We've seen quite a few veteran corners make the later-career move to safety successfully, including a recent one in Patrick Peterson. https://t.co/fnekbmL1om
This is not shocking. Plenty of cornerbacks make the switch to safety as they age and lose a step. The most famous example of that is obviously Charles Woodson, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, who played the last four seasons of his career at safety. The Eagles are hoping that Bradberry can follow a similar career trajectory.
"He played the majority of his career at corner and then was able to do some things at the dime (last year) and some things at the nickel, some things at the corner. And now he's working some of the safety stuff, which you'll see."
- Nick Sirianni on James Bradberry
This is also understandable from a positional standpoint. The Eagles now have solid depth at cornerback, especially after the reinstatement of Isaiah Rodgers Sr. Safety, however, doesn't have as much depth behind C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Reed Blankenship.
Perhaps this is Philadelphia's way to boost Bradberry's trade value. Last season, he was one of the worst cornerbacks in the league. If he can look like he can be a contributor at safety, the Eagles can trade him in exchange for an asset.
If the Eagles release Bradberry, his cap hit would count $4.3 million dead money in 2024 and $10.8 million in 2025. They likely don't want to have that on their books for next season but the way he looked last season, Philadelphia might not have a choice.
The Eagles are now +115 favorites to win the NFC East on FanDuel Sportsbook thanks to their defensive upgrades. Whether Bradberry can be a part of this remains to be seen.
More Eagles news and rumors:
feed
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.