Turf Show Times
James Bradberry could be another Tre’Davious White, or the cheap savior that L.A.’s secondary needs
Cornerback James Bradberry has had at least one interception in every season of his career, with only one exception: Bradberry missed all of 2024 with an Achilles tear. Prior to last year, Bradberry posted 19 interceptions in eight seasons, having spent half of his career with the Panthers and splitting the last four with the Giants and Eagles.
Now 31 and looking to get a second chance, Bradberry is visiting teams like the Buffalo Bills and seeking redemption. Rather than give up draft assets and millions of dollars in cap space for Jalen Ramsey, should the Rams take a low risk swing on Bradberry and another cheap veteran instead?
It’s worth noting that if and when the Dolphins trade Ramsey, they’re interested in signing Bradberry as a replacement. So there is at least one NFL team that believes they’d be better off with Bradberry than Ramsey.
The biggest pushback that this article will get is fans bringing up the disastrous tenure of Tre’Davious White in 2024. White also suffered an Achilles injury prior to signing with the Rams, and coincidentally he did it with the Bills (who are interested in Bradberry) while playing against the Dolphins (also interested in Bradberry).
There’s no question that Bradberry’s injury is a concern, otherwise he would have already signed with a team since being released by the Eagles in March, but the upshot is that he won’t cost anything relative to other potential starting cornerbacks.
White, for example, cost less than $3 million against L.A.’s salary cap.
There’s a good chance that signing Bradberry would cost even less than signing White, who had a higher profile than this case.
Bradberry is 31, coming off an Achilles injury from August (so he will have had 13 months to recover by Week 1), and he’s probably going to sign a contract with no money guaranteed and largely covered with incentives. It might cost literally nothing to sign Bradberry.
Bradberry was not bitter when the Eagles released him, saying that he understands it’s just a business:
I think I had a lot of time to reflect and think about how far I came,” Bradberry said via Zach Berman. “I was going into my 9th season, and you realize (when) you look around the locker room and see the young guys, I’ve been around for quite a bit. One, you have to cherish that, the amount of time and stuff you’ve been able to accomplish. And two, it just gave me a little hunger to get back out there and prove yourself again.”
JB Scott recently mentioned Asante Samuel Jr. as another cheaper alternative to Ramsey.
At this point in his career, Bradberry might be able to help the Rams at safety — another need — and have the versatility to move back and forth on the defense. This...
