The Philadelphia Eagles have a James Bradberry problem.
Bradberry regressed dramatically during the 2023 season, particularly down a stretch run that saw the Eagles fall from their perch atop the NFC to losing in the NFC Wild Card round, on the road, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But, as if Bradberry’s 108.6 passer rating allowed in 2023 weren’t detrimental enough, the veteran cornerback’s contract makes moving on from him nearly prohibitive.
If the Eagles were to release Bradberry before the 2024 campaign, the move would trigger a $4.305 million dead-money charge for this season as well as costing $10.8 million in dead money in 2025.
Likewise, while trading Bradberry would free up $1.2 million in cap space this season it would also trigger dead-money charges of $3.09 million in 2024 and another $10.813 million in 2025.
So, if Philadelphia hopes to move on from Bradberry, it would come at a significant financial cost. Still, the Eagles have telegraphed a future without Bradberry after selecting cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in the first two rounds of this spring’s draft.
Are Jacksonville Jaguars the Philadelphia Eagles’ Perfect James Bradberry Trade Partner?
Bleacher Report’s Marcus Davenport put together a list of “shocking” trade proposals that would shake up the playoff races, including a deal that sends Bradberry to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2025.
Given the financial albatross of Bradberry’s contract, it’s difficult to envision even Eagles general manager Howie Roseman managing to come away with much more in exchange for the 30-year-old.
“This trade would be shocking not in that the Eagles would move on from Bradberry,” Davenport writes for B/R. “That feels more inevitable by the day. The shock would be that a player who just two years ago was a second-team All-Pro who also has a Pro Bowl on his resume would all but be given away.
“But perhaps a change of scenery would rekindle his career. And an improved Jaguars secondary would help their chances of keeping up with the Texans and their loaded cadre of pass-catchers.”
For the Jaguars, landing Bradberry would be a big bet that a change of scenery can spark a late-career renaissance as the franchise experiences an arms race in what promises to be a fascinating and wide-open AFC South in coming years.
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Matt Lombardo is a seasoned NFL reporter, with over 12 years of experience covering the league.
In addition to his work at Gridiron Heroics, Lombardo covers the NFL for Heavy.com, is an on air sports contributor for FOX29 Philadelphia, and writes an NFL Substack "Between The Hashmarks."
Lombardo is the former Senior NFL Insider of FanBuzz, and prior to taking that role was a national NFL reporter at FanSided where he hosted a weekly podcast "The Matt Lombardo Show."
A former beat reporter for NJ Advance Media (Parent company of NJ.com and the Newark Star Ledger), Lombardo covered the Philadelphia Eagles from 2011 through the 2017 season before moving to cover the New York Giants for the Star Ledger for two seasons from 2018 through 2020.
During his career to date, Lombardo has covered five Super Bowls, four NFL Drafts, multiple NFL Combines, and has had his work frequently featured in publications such as Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, and more.
In addition to his journalism work, Lombardo is a strong on air presence and is a former sports talk radio host on 97.5 FM The Fanatic, Philadelphia's first FM Sports Station and the radio home of the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers.