Eagles Should Do Right By Veteran CB

The Eagles should consider moving on from James Bradberry before forcing him to show for mandatory minicamp.

Nov 26, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry (24) celebrates his interception during the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles have one more week of voluntary OTAs scheduled before the team's spring work concludes with the first mandatory minicamp of the Nick Sirianni era from June 4-6.

Had Philadelphia again skipped the only mandatory aspect of the offseason, perhaps kicking the can down the road into the summer with veteran cornerback James Bradberry would become an easier strategy

The writing is on the wall for Bradberry, a second-team All-Pro player in 2022 who couldn't follow those heights up last season after signing a three-year, $38 million extension.

The Eagles drafted two cornerbacks in the top 40 picks in April's draft, Quinyon Mitchell (No. 22 overall) and Cooper DeJean (No. 40), and each looked impressive at OTAs this week. Philadelphia also has added Isaiah Rodgers to the mix after his one-year gambling suspension and has two second-year players with tremendous upside in Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks.

The odds of Bradberry being on the initial 53-man roster in September are minimal and the Eagles will incur no 2024 salary-cap penalty if they release the veteran with a post-June 1 designation.

The tricky aspect to this is that the Eagles have carried Bradberry to this point even though they could have released with the post-June 1 designation at any time, an indication that the organization is holding out for some kind of compensation for Bradberry, most likely a 2025 Day 3 draft pick.

The best way to generate that value would be to carry Bradberry into training camp and wait for an injury to pop up for a CB-needy team.

If NFL business were done in a vacuum that's an easy decision for the Eagles. Players are human beings, however, and playing hardball could spark all kinds of unintended consequences.

To date, voluntary work means Bradberry can stay away but the minicamp means everyone has to show up or fines start to accumulate, and having an unhappy player in the building could spark a host of unintended consequences.

The good news for the Eagles is that Bradberry is a professional and will likely dutifully fall in line if push comes to shove. That said, the Eagles should consider moving on from Bradberry before the minicamp as a compromise for a player who did everything that was asked of him for two seasons, even roles that hurt him like the strange move inside to the slot last season.

“He’s in good spirits,” Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay said of his 2022-23 running mate. “JB here, what, going on year 9? He’ll be good. He made a lot of money, played good, All-Pro player. We have talks. He’s good. He’s in good spirits.

“His mindset is the same as mine is - go out here and help these young guys get better and make sure we give them all the tools to be successful at what we do.”

Instead of preying on a commendable work ethic, the Eagles should consider doing right by a well-liked player, something that may end up being more valuable to the organization in the long run than a potential future Day 3 draft pick that may bever materialize.

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