Getty New York Giants starting cornerback James Bradberry on October 4, 2020.
The New York Giants made a calculated business decision when they released James Bradberry. They attempted to trade him but when no suitors met the asking price, the Pro Bowl cornerback hit the waiver wire in a cap-clearing move.
Bradberry didn’t agree with the move — especially not the timing of it — but he understands that football is a business. Are there any hard feelings between Bradberry and the Giants? If there are, he isn’t admitting it.
“First of all, I understand that it is a business so I was putting my business cap on first,” Bradberry told reporters. “And understanding that I’m an asset so I understand that they want something for me. That was part of the game. Personally, I didn’t necessarily like it. But it’s a business at the end of the day and I understand that.”
Now Bradberry will wear No. 24 for the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that plays the Giants twice this season. While Bradberry doesn’t have those games circled on his calendar, his wry smile certainly revealed that winning them matters. He would love nothing better than to win the NFC East and make a lengthy playoff run in 2022.
“I’m looking forward to every game that we play next year,” Bradberry said. “It’s 17 games. I know that we have to win a lot of them to make it into the playoffs, so I’m looking forward to all the games we play.”
The 28-year-old only inked a one-year deal so he’s banking on himself to get an extension. Whether that’s in Philly or somewhere else remains to be seen.
“For sure,” Bradberry said when asked if he was excited about hitting free agency.
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Bradberry: ‘Potential Only Gets You So Far’
The idea of a starting cornerback tandem of Bradberry and Darius Slay has everyone drooling. Those two players have combined for more than 80 pass breakups and 15 interceptions since 2016. Now they are playing on the same team in what should be one of the scariest secondaries in football.
There are two NFL players since 2016 with 15+ interceptions and 80+ pass breakups:
Darius Slay
James Bradberry
Now, they’re starting opposite each other.
But potential will only get you so far. And while Slay has them filling the large shoes of another great Eagles cornerback duo — he compared them to Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard — Bradberry is tapering expectations.
“I mean potential only gets you so far, so I don’t really want to speak on potential,” Bradberry said. “I just know individually we’re pretty good so the goal is to be great together.”
RT if you think Darius Slay and James Bradberry are the most dangerous CB duo in the league‼️
Sold on Jonathan Gannon’s Defensive Scheme
The Eagles are expected to mix up their defensive scheme once again under second-year coordinator Jonathan Gannon. He’ll make his cornerbacks play both zone and man coverage, depending on the down and distance.
Bradberry thrives in that kind of hybrid scheme and mentioned it as a major reason why he chose Philadelphia over 10 other interested teams.
“I like to play in a defense that offers like multiple looks, plays zone and man,” Bradberry said. “And I think I make a lot of plays in both, so that’s the reason why I like the scheme.”
Bradberry said the Giants played a similar hybrid style, but there will be an adjustment period playing next to Slay. He hopes to get acclimated quickly.
“Myself, I’m also learning the scheme,” Bradberry said. “So as I continue to learn the scheme and put the work in, it’ll formulate itself at the end of the day. But right now I’m just trying to make sure I learn the scheme and make sure I’m good enough for this defense.”