James Bradberry's OTAs Absence Stirs Buzz Around Eagles Future

The Philadelphia Eagles understandably made it a priority this offseason to address their secondary. With that objective in mind, they used their first two draft picks on two cornerbacks, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.

Philadelphia's disastrous cornerback rotation was one of the main reasons for their epic collapse in the second half of the 2023 campaign. Perhaps the main culprit there was former All-Pro defender James Bradberry. With the arrival of Mitchell and DeJean, Bradberry's future with the Eagles was jeopardized. The latest news about the 30-year-old cornerback suggests that his days in Philly may be numbered.

According to Jake Rabadi of the Liberty Line, Bradberry didn't participate in organized team activities on Wednesday, opening the door for speculation surrounding his future with the team.

Eagles CB James Bradberry is Absent from OTAs

The Eagles were the 31st-ranked pass defense in the league last season. Bradberry allowed 114.3 passer rating, the second-worst mark among qualifying corners, and league-worst 11 touchdowns when targeted.

Therefore, it is understandable that general manager Howie Roseman would want to move on from Bradberry.

Plus, there is the financial aspect. Bradberry has a cap hit of $15.1 million for next season. For a player who isn't projected to start, that is a ton of money. With June 1 looming, the Eagles are naturally presumably interested in cutting him.

If the Eagles make Bradberry a post-June 1 release, they would bring the cap hit to $4.3 million for 2024, and move the rest of the dead money to 2025. Spreading his salary to two years would allow the Eagles to make some moves to improve the roster ahead of the start of the season.

Bradberry was an All-Pro defender as recently as 2022. Could he get back to those days and make the Eagles regret cutting him? It's possible, but certainly not probable.

He was never the speediest cornerback and losing a step once Bradberry entered the wrong side of 30 didn't do him wonders. It's hard to expect any backfield defender to improve their level of play in their age-31 season.

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