Nigel Bradham will land with a different NFC contender. The longtime Eagles linebacker reached an agreement on a one-year deal with the Saints, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
The Eagles cut Bradham earlier this year. The ninth-year ‘backer will resurface in New Orleans, joining former Philadelphia teammate Malcolm Jenkins.
New Orleans houses a surefire three-down player in Demario Davis, who has been one of the best off-ball linebackers in recent years. Picked a round later in 2012 (in Round 4), Bradham was the Eagles’ steadiest linebacker since he signed with Philly in 2016. The former Bills draftee will add experience to a Saints second-level corps that has ex-Bradham Bills teammate Kiko Alonso recovering from an ACL tear.
Bradham, 31 in September, played at least 900 defensive snaps from 2016-18 but logged 717 last year. He battled an ankle injury in 2019. He graded as a top-35 linebacker, per Pro Football Focus, in three of his four seasons in Philly — including the Eagles’ 2017 Super Bowl slate.
New Orleans lost A.J. Klein in free agency but used a third-round pick on Wisconsin’s Zack Baun, who worked as both an off-ball defender and a pass rusher for the Big Ten program.
The three-time reigning NFC South champions have been active on the market this offseason, with Bradham following Jenkins, Emmanuel Sanders and Jameis Winston to Louisiana. With Drew Brees on a year-to-year plan regarding retirement, maximizing his final snaps makes sense for a team that has endured some brutal endings to its past three seasons.
My buddy Nigel Bradham I always sign him on my nfl 20 franchise mode teams I do
Instant upgrade over Kiko, even if you need to limit his snaps a bit. The Saints are quietly geared up for a championship run. So long as they can avoid those pesky Vikings
Well, he fits that system perfectly. The Saints have a talented defense, but they need it in order to overcome stale and predictable playcalling from Dennis Allen. That defense should be even better than it is, but I digress.
Bradham is one of the comparatively few 4-3 backers today who had success off the ball like Davis. The Saints are a pretty good fit given their scheme.
He’s lost a step or two since 2017. Don’t see him getting them back as he gets older.