Eagles solidify their secondary with former Pro Bowler originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles just turned their biggest weakness into their biggest strength.
They officially agreed to terms with free agent cornerback James Bradberry on Wednesday, a move that will have Eagles fans even more pumped about the upcoming season.
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Because instead of starting one of their several inexperienced cornerbacks as their CB2 in 2022, the Eagles will plug the former Pro Bowler Bradberry into that slot across from Darius Slay. And they’ll still have Avonte Maddox as their nickel cornerback. This is, all of a sudden, a great group of cornerbacks.
The one-year deal for Bradberry is reportedly worth up to $10 million, according to ESPN. The deal includes $7.5 million guaranteed and another $2.5 million in upside. But the Eagles will likely use voidable years to spread out his cap hit. That’s still a lot of money at the cornerback position but the Eagles now have a roster that can contend in 2022.
Bradberry, 28, was released by the Giants earlier this month to avoid paying him a huge salary in the third and final year of a $43.5 million contract he signed in 2020. While Bradberry didn’t play at a Pro Bowl level again in 2021, he’s still a really good player and will immediately be a huge upgrade for the Eagles. The Eagles got steady play from Steven Nelson last year in that CB2 position … and now they’ve upgraded.
Bradberry was a second-round pick back in 2016 and in his six-year career has 15 interceptions and 82 pass breakups.
There are just two players in the NFL since 2016 with 15+ interceptions and 80+ pass breakups:
Darius Slay and James Bradberry.
Now, they’re going to be starting opposite each other in 2022.
In 2021, Bradberry played in all 17 games with 16 starts. He had 4 interceptions, 17 pass breakups and 47 tackles. He was a Pro Bowler in 2020, when he had 3 interceptions, 18 pass breakups and 54 tackles.
Had the Eagles not added another starting cornerback, this was setting up to be a competition between young players like Zech McPhearson, Tay Gowan and others. Now, those guys will be battling for the top depth positions at the cornerback spots.
The Eagles will start Slay, Bradberry and Maddox as their cornerbacks. Their presumed starters at safety are Anthony Harris and Marcus Epps.
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