Unexpected!
James Bradberry is NOT leaving the Philadelphia Eagles after all!
The Birds are retaining the starting cornerback on a three-year contract worth $38 million with $20 million fully guaranteed, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter.
This is an unexpected development. It seemed like Bradberry was a prime candidate to leave in free agency. Spotrac projected his market value to be a three-year deal worth around $45.5 million. An annual value of $15.1 million would’ve placed him just outside the top 10 cornerback contracts.
Instead, Bradberry’s $12.6 million annual value has him ranked just outside the top 15 cornerback contracts.
Teams may have been concerned about Bradberry age; he does turn 30 in August. Perhaps they also overreacted to the defensive holding call that ended the Eagles’ hopes of winning the Super Bowl?
It’s fair to wonder if Bradberry will continue to play at a high level as he ages. But there’s no disputing that he’s coming off an excellent season where he earned NFL All-Pro second team honors while logging three interceptions, 17 passes defensed, and just a 51.6 passer rating when targeted.
Assuming the Eagles are able to retain Darius Slay, whose agent has been given permission to seek a trade, they figure to have one of the NFL’s best starting cornerback duos once again in 2023.
It’s worth noting that Bradberry’s return may signal the end of C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s time in Philly. CJGJ remains unsigned but it seemed like the Eagles would only be able to keep one of Bradberry, CJGJ, or Javon Hargrave. Funny enough, they ended up retaining the one that most thought would be a goner.
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