Pros and cons of Eagles potentially extending James Bradberry

There are probably only three reasons why you’d let someone like James Bradberry walk.

You’ve probably already figured out where this part of the conversation leads us, right? Hanging on to elite players usually means two things. One, you’re going to overspend more often than not. Second, overspending keeps you from keeping your other impending free agents on the roster.

According to Spotrac, James Bradberry’s $7.25 million salary slots him 70th on a list of the highest-paid cornerbacks. 20 members of the Eagles roster all enjoy a higher salary as well.

Bradberry will be looking for a big payday at season’s end, and how on Earth can you blame him? Spotrac calculates his market value at about $36,597,390 over three seasons, roughly $12,199,130 on average. They also calculate Philly’s 2023 cap space at about $11.4 million.

That’s a long-winded way of saying this. Signing Bradberry makes it difficult for the Birds to sign someone else. That’s one reason why you’d let him walk. Here are two more.

First, though the 30-year-old threshold still ranks among life’s biggest accomplishments, it often means NFL stars are ushered toward the senior citizen’s line. Again, this is someone that has proven to be durable, but Philly has Josh Jobe and Zech McPhearson waiting in the wings. One or both could be asked to step up. Plus, if Bradberry goes ‘one and done’ in an Eagles jersey, Philly is likely to be awarded a compensatory pick after he departs.

The Birds could use one of those first-round draft choices on a cornerback, but let’s be honest. They’ve only used a first-round draft choice on a defensive back three times: Roynell Young in 1980, Ben Smith in 1990, and Lito Sheppard in 2002.