Philadelphia Eagles to release Nigel Bradham per report: 3 Reactions

3. Is this another example of Philly’s lack of interest in the linebacker position?

Only the Good Lord in Heaven knows why the Eagles can’t seem to get the linebacker position right or why they continue to put very little stock in locking down one that’s elite.

When Bradham arrived in Philly with Doug Pederson’s regime, it was known he’d play at one of the outside linebacker slots. Unfortunately, Jordan Hicks can get hurt getting out of swimming pools and putting his cleats on (that last statement was a poorly-timed joke of course).

Once Hicks was lost for the season in 2017, Bradham was trusted to wear the mic in his helmet and relay Jim Schwartz‘s defensive signals to his teammates. That worked out and Bradham shined in that role all the way through Philly’s victory in Super Bowl 52 and ever since he’s retained that role over the course of the last two seasons.

Now, despite the love Eagles will always have for ’53’, he moves on. He’ll get another opportunity elsewhere. That’s a definite. This is an easy move to explain when you factor in his age and price tag, but ‘Birds’ fans are also familiar with the fact that there’s a revolving door at Philly’s second level on defense and losing Bradham means the Eagles have just lost the best linebacker they had on the roster.

T.J. Edwards, Nathan Gerry, Duke Riley, Alex Singleton, and Kamu Grugier-Hill are now the guys. Philly will need to invest money in free agency and a pick in the upcoming draft to ensure this position group has some punch in 2020 and the future. We’ll have to wait and see if they do a better job with that this offseason than they’ve done in recent history.