James Bradberry explains why he asked Eagles to switch to safety originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
After a disappointing season in 2023, James Bradberry gave some thought to his future and went to the Eagles with an idea: He wanted to learn to play safety.
Why?
“Why not?” Bradberry said.
The real answer is that the soon-to-be 31-year-old cornerback saw the writing on the wall.
“So after the season,” Bradberry said, “Of course, I didn’t have the best season. Going into my ninth year, I know they signed Isaiah Rodgers as well. Of course, he wasn’t able to participate at the time when I requested that but I knew eventually, he was probably going to end up being on the team. We had a lot of young guys at corner in the room anyways, feel like it was lighter at safety.”
This is an awkward situation that Bradberry is handling with class.
After a very good season in 2022, when he was named a second-team All-Pro, Bradberry’s game fell off a cliff last season to the point where the Eagles used a rotation for their playoff game against the Buccaneers. Bradberry gave up an opposing passer rating of 114.3 last year, by far the worst of the Eagles’ full-time starters.
There was no way the Eagles could run it back with him in 2024 and he knew it.
There was a lot of speculation this offseason about Bradberry’s future but for the first three days of Eagles training camp, he’s been lining up as a second-team safety.
“A lot of that is out of my control,” he said about that speculation. “As far as right now, I’m still under contract for two years. I’ve got one year guaranteed. So I try not to put too much thought into it. I tried to enjoy my time with my family. Of course, I was up here for OTAs for a little minute, just trying to do my part as far as whatever the coaches ask me to do. And that was it. I tried not to put too much thought into it honestly.”
After the 2023 season wrapped up, Bradberry already knew that the talented Rodgers was likely going to be reinstated after a yearlong suspension and because he played so poorly, he figured the Eagles were going to draft cornerbacks. They did, taking Quinyon Mitchell in the first round and Cooper DeJean in the second. And they already had young corners like Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks on the roster.
So Bradberry took his idea about playing safety to Vic Fangio, who was receptive. He also had a conversation with general manager Howie Roseman. While Bradberry would obviously like to be a starter, he didn’t demand a trade.
“Nah, I was going to let Howie handle that,” Bradberry said. “We had a conversation and right now, I’m still on the team. And while I’m still on the team, I’m going to try to find my role. If they want to get rid of me, they’re going to get rid of me.”
Because of the structure of the three-year deal Bradberry signed before the 2023 season, there’s no cap benefit to releasing him. A trade would free up just his base salary of $1.21 million in cap space but it might still be the most palatable conclusion if Roseman can find a partner.
Last week, Fangio cautioned about how difficult it can be for cornerbacks to successfully make the transition to safety in the NFL. But Bradberry thinks he has the size, he thinks he has the physicality (even though he didn’t show it last year) and he thinks his time at nickel and dime last season made this a bit more of a natural transition.
We’ll see.
The toughest part of the transition, he said, is communication and knowing the roles of the other players in the middle of the field. Even though he played safety some in high school, there’s a learning curve in the NFL.
And it’s not like the Eagles have a job open at safety either.
The Eagles’ starters at safety are clearly C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Reed Blankenship and at some point 2023 third-round pick Sydney Brown is going to return from the ACL tear he suffered late in the year.
Could Bradberry make the Eagles’ roster as a backup versatile defensive back? Maybe. But he also hasn’t played a single special teams snap in his two years in Philly and hasn’t been working with those units this summer either.
“I try to be adaptive,” Bradberry said. “I’m on the team right now, so as far as I’m on the team, I want to find a role on this team and I feel like if I’m a versatile player, I’m going to have a role. Of course, I want to start. Now, where I’m going to start? I don’t know. But I’m working right now at safety to see if I can learn it and play that and be a valuable asset to the team right there.”
Blankenship said he thinks Bradberry has the ability to play safety and has enjoyed helping his veteran teammate with the transition. But it’s still a little tough to see Bradberry being on the 53-man roster when the Eagles kick off their season in Brazil.
As he said multiple times on Saturday, Bradberry is an Eagle “right now.”
Does he expect to be on the team in 2024?
“Well, I’m on the team right now so I’m taking it day by day,” Bradberry said. “In the NFL, you never know. I could be traded, I could not be traded. I’m preparing for anything.”
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