James Bradberry Expected to Miss 6-8 Weeks with Lower Leg Injury
Philadelphia Eagles converted safety James Bradberry suffered a lower leg tendon injury during Wednesday’s practice that is expected to sideline him for six to eight weeks, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
The converted cornerback was expected to offer the secondary depth this upcoming season, slotting behind players like C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Reed Blankenship and Avonte Maddox at safety.
The 31-year-old struggled in 2023 after signing a three-year, $38 million deal to return to the Eagles, registering 54 tackles and just one interception in 16 starts. Philly promptly addressed the cornerback in a major way at the NFL draft, landing Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in the first and second rounds, respectively, while Isaiah Rodgers returned from suspension.
Those three paired with Darius Slay and ascending young players like Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks to give the Eagles a deep cornerback room, leaving Bradberry’s only route to making the team a switch to safety.
But he’s hardly the first option there either, with the aforementioned Gardner-Johnson and Blankenship serving as the starters and Maddox and Sydney Brown—once he’s eligible to return from the reserve/PUP list—seem far more likely to operate as the backups.
That led to questions about whether Bradberry simply made the team due to the $15.1 million dead cap hit he would have carried had he been released, but general manager Howie Roseman pushed back against such talk.
“James always has had really good football instincts,” he told reporters Wednesday. “When you see him play safety every day here and see his ability to diagnose his football instincts. I think for all of us, that’s a transition, that’s a different position than playing outside corner.”
“He’s got a skill set. It’s a long season,” he continued. “We already know that he’s had tremendous success in this league playing outside corner as well. With the goals that we have for this football team, having a veteran player like that on the roster that we know we can rely on when called upon, we felt like was important.”
For now, the Eagles will have to rely on Maddox and Tristin McCollum for safety depth, while DeJean could be asked to make the adjustment to the position if the team incurs further injuries at the position.
