How the Philadelphia Eagles are making an NFC East rival look foolish
The Philadelphia Eagles are making one of their NFC East rivals look foolish this offseason. Philadelphia took advantage of a poor decision by the New York Giants earlier this offseason and it's already paying dividends for the Eagles. The Giants released veteran cornerback James Bradberry back in May after they were unable to trade him. […]
The Philadelphia Eagles are making one of their NFC East rivals look foolish this offseason.
Philadelphia took advantage of a poor decision by the New York Giants earlier this offseason and it's already paying dividends for the Eagles.
The Giants released veteran cornerback James Bradberry back in May after they were unable to trade him.
Philly quickly signed Bradberry, who is just one season removed from Pro-Bowl appearance, to a one-year deal worth $7.5 million.
That deal already looks like a steal thanks to Bradberry's strong show so far during training camp.
The Giants didn't release Bradberry because of his performance — he played well in New York.
They released him because they couldn't afford to keep him any longer. Giants general manager Joe Schoen even acknowledged that Bradberry is still a starting NFL cornerback.
"He's a starting corner in the league," said Schoen during the spring (via NFL.com). "It's just where we are financially."
Good teams keep good players. Bad teams find a way to screw up having good players. You can guess which category the Giants fit in.
As for Bradberry's performance in camp?
Well, he's drawing rave reviews.
Pro Football Network suggested this week that Bradberry has looked like a "lockdown corner" during training camp.
While Bradberry gave up a deep ball to Smith in 1-on-1 coverage drills, he came back with an excellent press at the line of scrimmage on their next duel. Bradberry used his physicality to push Smith off his route and break up a short pass from Hurts to Smith. That play sort of set the tone for the rest of the morning for Bradberry.
During 7-on-7 work, Bradberry was a lockdown corner. He broke up a pass from Hurts to Brown early in the drill. A few plays later, he broke up a pass intended for backup tight end Noah Togiai.
I'm obviously not privy to the trade conversations that New York had or didn't have with other teams, but failing to ship Bradberry to another team for nothing just to get him out of the division looks like a massive mistake. With Bradberry performing at a high level for the Eagles, this looks like a decision the Giants will regret all season long.
Featured image via Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
