Marriage of Convenience Could Pay Off Big for James Bradberry and Eagles

The Eagles were able to add a former Pro Bowl CB in May, and may be just what the team needed

PHILADELPHIA – James Bradberry remains a good player who got caught up in the business end of football.

At 28, the former Pro Bowl cornerback still has plenty left in the tank but was a victim of the poor financial planning of former New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman. The new man in charge for Big Blue, Joe Schoen, was tasked with cleaning things up but had a difficult time just cutting the cord with arguably one of the organization's best players.

Free agency came and went and so did the draft with Bradberry still a member of the Giants even though the rest of the league correctly surmised that New York would ultimately have to release Bradberry.

“I was very anxious because I didn’t know what decision they would make,” Bradberry admitted when discussing his former employers on Tuesday from the Eagles' NovCare Complex. 

“There was a lot of anxiety throughout that period, but I knew just being patient and waiting that eventually, things were going to shake out, and I was going to be in the right place.”

The right place turned out about 90 minutes away after he signed a one-year deal that could reach $10 million, not what he was set to make with the Giants but not bad considering the calendar and the fact most teams had already expended their budgets for eight-figure items.

“I had to put my business cap on first and understand that I’m an asset,” Bradberry said when asked about how he was treated by the Giants. “I understand that they want something for me, so that was part of the game. Personally, I didn’t necessarily like it. It’s a business at the end of the day, and I understand that.”

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Bradberry, however, downplayed the idea that he chose the Eagles in part because he is scheduled to see the Giants twice in 2022, a team he recorded seven interceptions and 35 pass breakups for over the past two seasons.

“I’m looking forward to every game that we play next year,” he said. “There are 17 games. I know we have to win a lot of them to make it to the playoffs, so I’m looking forward to all the games that we play.”

On paper, Bradberry is the final piece to what should be one of the top CB trios in the NFL, joining Pro Bowl outside CB Darius Slay and emerging nickel corner Avonte Maddox, a player defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon has turned into one of the best slot options in the NFL.

"He is a very versatile player," Gannon said of Bradberry. "[He’s] smart, tough, physical, can get the ball, can cover. Anytime you have that type of skill set with your outside corners, it's a good asset to have. He allows us to play certain things predicated on what we're trying to stop that week, as Slay does."

The goal for Bradberry is to play well and get right back on the free-agent market.

"For sure," Bradberry smiled when asked if that's the plan.

While knocked for having a bit of a down year last season, a Giants source explained to SI Fan Nation's Eagles Today that Bradberry was playing through a lingering injury and remained well-regarded by the former coaching staff led by Joe Judge.

"I think last season was comparable to a couple of other seasons that I’ve had," Bradberry said. "We didn’t do too well overall, but I tried to do my best, and I tried to make plays."

He made a career-high four interceptions and has 15 in his six-year career.

Bradberry seems tailor-made for what Gannon wants in his CBs and that wasn't lost on the Samford product, who Gannon has kept a close eye on since the 2016 draft when Bradberry went in the second round to Carolina.

"I like to play a defense that offers multiple looks, plays zone, and man," Bradberry said. "I think I make a lot of plays in both. So that’s the reason why I like [Gannon's] scheme."

"That's why you look for complete players," added Gannon. "Can they play off? Can they press? Can they play with vision? Can they play with man eyes? [Bradberry] does all that, and really with that type of player, it gives you flexibility with some of the coverages that you can play, which I like flexibility with coverages."

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen