The Philadelphia Eagles interestingly decided not to draft a cornerback last week despite there being a bucket full of top-tier talent in the first round. While names like Tay Gowan and Zech McPhearson may be in the running for the CB2 role, there’s one other name Howie should be keeping an eye on.
James Bradberry’s stint in New York could be nearing an end. The Giants are in a very messy cap situation and moving a three-year deal worth $45M would be optimal considering they still have to sign their draft picks. Bradberry is on the books for a $21.9M cap hit this season, but the Giants can save $10M with a trade, and slightly more with a post-June 1 release.
Bradberry stood out in a big way last year, picking off 4 passes and amassing 47 tackles. He made the Pro Bowl in 2020 and fits the Eagles perfectly. He’s 6’1, 212 lbs, and runs a 4.5 40-yard dash, which is more than athletic enough for this secondary. He’s also a menace at the catch point, with 10 passes defensed to his name last year.
This should obviously perk the ears of Howie Roseman. The Eagles only have $7M in cap space, so they would need to make some kind of corresponding move, be it a contract restructure elsewhere or a potential trade with several candidates to choose from. However, we’ve been here before with the A.J Brown trade.
Bradberry is in the final year of a three-year contract he signed in 2019 and has since gone on to prove he’s worth the price tag. At 28-years-old, Bradberry is in the prime of his career and if the Eagles could make a move to acquire him (be it via trade or waiting for his release), then they could absolutely work on a new deal. It would be preferable to trade for his services given his reputation around the league and how many teams will have eyes on him. If Howie can backload that contract and give him a mid-term extension, it would tick several boxes for the Eagles, bringing in a top-tier corner without having to give up valuable draft capital.
If they can find enough cap space to pay their draft class and bring James Bradberry in, it would certainly tip the NFC East scales in favor of Philadelphia…and Darius Slay is already a big fan of Bradberry’s play.
Whether New York releases Bradberry or will look to cash in right at the death remains to be seen, but it’s rare a corner of his caliber becomes available so late into the offseason…and this correlates perfectly with one of the few remaining holes on this roster.
photo credit: Icon Sportswire
