It was just two months ago that the 2022 free agency cycle begun, and fans were already grading their pitchforks and torches ready to run Howie Roseman out of town. Well, all of those fans should be pretty pleased with the Eagles offseason up to this point, especially after signing former Panthers and Giants Pro Bowl cornerback James Bradberry.
Why the Giants Cut Bradberry
Dave Gettleman is no longer the GM in New York, but thanks to him Bradberry is an Eagle. After signing Bradberry to a three-year deal in 2020 worth $43.5M, the Giants were forced to cut him on the last year of that deal, creating $11.7M in dead cap for the team. Bradberry was one of, if not the best player on the Giants defense, but cutting him was the only option for Joe Schoen moving forward, as he is cleaning up the mess Gettleman left for him.
Bradberry Contract Details
Many expected the Eagles to be heavily interested in acquiring James Bradberry in post-draft free agency signing, but the consensus was that the Eagles wouldn't have the money to compete on the open market. Bradberry and the Eagles agreed to a one-year deal worth $7.5M, with $7.25M being guaranteed and $2.5M being based off incentives, per to Adam Schefter. In total, Bradberry's contract could be worth $10M based on incentives and bonuses.
This is where things get interesting, as the Giants will have to pay Bradberry $11.7M in dead cap for the 2022 season, while the Eagles will only be paying Bradberry $10M if he hits his incentives, which is a pretty big bargain for a Pro Bowl level corner who is only 28 years old. While the Eagles likely want to retain Bradberry after the 2022 campaign, best part is that the Eagles will get a comp pick if he leaves in free agency. So not only are the Eagles paying less than the Giants for Bradberry this season, but they will get a comp pick if he doesn't return in 2023 and the Giants got nothing for him (thank you Dave Gettleman).
Why Bradberry Chose the Eagles
With most post-draft free agents that receive the interest that Bradberry did, you often here a lot about what teams he is interested in him, but we didn't hear much about James Bradberry until his deal was inked with the Eagles. From what has been reported from Adam Schefter and Jordan Raanan of ESPN, 11 teams reached out to Bradberry, and his agents cut the list down to three teams. There were "better deals out there" per Jordan Raanan, but Bradberry chose the Eagles because he wanted to be put in a winning situation. In a text conversation with ESPN's Josina Anderson, Bradberry said "I believe the scheme is perfect for me."
Bradberry joins Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay in the secondary, forming the best corner duo in Philadelphia in over a decade, and one of the top duo's in the entire NFL. With the addition of Bradberry, Jonathan Gannon will have a lot of flexibility with the front seven knowing that he has two of the best corners in football on the back end. Slay and Bradberry are two corners that you can move around all over the place and rely on to take away an offenses top receiver, but having two of them on the same team also allows the defense to allocate more guys to other areas of the field taking away other weapons because you know your corners will lock-up the outside. Gannon loves to run Cover-2 and Quarters coverage, which is a perfect fit for a guy like Bradberry who is 6'1" 212 with long arms. Bradberry's one weakness is that he can get beat over the top, but Gannon loves to have the safeties sit back in double high coverage splitting the field in half. Overall, Bradberry is a great addition to a new look Eagles defense that already added four new starters to the front-seven this offseason.