James Bradberry Indicates There is Mutual Interest in Returning to Eagles

Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride over the next 72 hours.

Beginning Monday and running through Wednesday, the free agent market will be red-hot. Yes, the Eagles will get burned, but, maybe, just maybe, there will be a way to ease some of the expected pain that will accompany the next few days.

News broke early Sunday about the Eagles making a strong offer to safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson.

Later in the day, CBS Sports' Josina Anderson released a snippet of an interview she did with cornerback James Bradberry, who will turn 30 in August.

Bradberry told Anderson: “I know there’s definitely interest with the Eagles. I would love to play for the Eagles. I definitely see how bright the future is for the team. I’m just waiting to hear on the exact terms from them.

"I believe they’re also waiting for what the market tells as well, because I’m also anticipating interest from other teams, too. So, they told me whoever calls, just make sure I also give them the chance to match.”

The Eagles have several players ranked in the top 10 of available free agents, and Bradberry is one of them along with defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and Gardner-Johnson.

Bradberry was a second-team Associated Press All-Pro after a season in which he intercepted three passes, including a pick-six. He was as shut down as shutdown gets on the outside.

Losing both him and Gardner-Johnson would be a big blow to the team’s top-ranked pass defense.

Also, Darius Slay has been given permission to seek a trade as the Eagles try to work a new deal with the 32-year-old cornerback to alleviate his $26.1 million salary cap charge.

Losing all three would put the Eagles in a predictable position going into next month’s NFL draft, and the Eagles don’t like being predictable with who they are going to take.

Already, there is a strong sense they will select a cornerback with the 10th overall pick, and losing both Bradberry and Slay would certainly make drafting a CB a must.

That is far from a given at this point.

Even if one CB were to depart, the Eagles may still turn in that direction, though it is a deep draft at cornerback, so maybe they turn to that position at pick No. 30 or on the second day of the draft with the 62nd and 94th overall selections.

Either way, these next few days will tell a lot.

Not everything, but a lot.

Remember, last year, the Eagles didn’t come out of the free-agent gate swinging. They signed Haason Reddick on March 16 then took their time adding from there.

This could be the case again this year, as the Eagles wait to hear what some of their free agents, like Bradberry and Gardner-Johnson, will do.

Eagles Intell on the Eve of Free Agency - Sports Illustrated

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglestoday.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.