Eagles’ 53-man roster goes heavy at cornerback and safety, including James Bradberry for the time being

With Tuesday’s cutdown day coming and going and James Bradberry left unscathed, the veteran defensive back’s offseason of uncertainty has given way to something else.

The 31-year-old converted to safety this summer after a turbulent 2023 season at outside cornerback left his future with the Eagles in doubt, and he was one of the 11 defensive backs to make the team’s initial 53-man roster on Tuesday.

A few minutes after the 4 p.m. deadline for teams to submit their rosters to the league office, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said Bradberry’s transition to the back end of the secondary, along with his versatility, factored into the decision to keep him on the roster.

“James always has had really good football instincts,” Roseman said. “When you see him play safety every day here and see his ability to diagnose, his football instincts — I think for all of us, that’s a transition. That’s a different position than playing outside corner, and he’s got a skill set. It’s a long season, we already know that he’s had tremendous success in this league playing outside corner as well. With the goals that we have for this football team, having a veteran player like that on the roster that can be relied on when called upon, we felt like that was important.”

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Bradberry’s switch to safety first came about during the Eagles’ organized team activities in the spring, although an injury suffered at the start of the first session open to the media led to Bradberry spending most of the spring practices on the sideline. During training camp, Bradberry worked primarily with the second-team defense and played in the first two weeks of the preseason with mixed results. He missed a tackle during the Eagles’ second preseason game against New England and was caught out of position on a zone-read that led to Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye running for a touchdown.

When asked about Bradberry’s willingness to switch positions after playing eight years at outside cornerback, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni commended the veteran’s professionalism.

“He’s a pro,” Sirianni said. “He’s been a pro ever since he came into this building. He’s led by example, he’s led with his play, and guys look up to him.”

Although Bradberry has cleared a noteworthy hurdle by making the initial roster, there’s still potential for him to end up elsewhere in the coming days and weeks. The Eagles had discussions with multiple teams, including the Tennessee Titans, where former Eagles defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson is on staff, about a potential trade involving Bradberry in the lead up to Tuesday, according to The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane.

The Eagles will take on the brunt of Bradberry’s salary regardless of whether they keep, release, or trade him. The team signed him to a three-year contract with $20 million guaranteed in 2022 and won’t get any meaningful savings by offloading him as a result.

When asked if Bradberry would remain on the roster in the long-term, Roseman acknowledged the uncertainty that faces even the players who make it through cutdown day.

“When you talk about our 53-man roster at any position, things come up, opportunities arise for our football team, for other football teams, so I don’t want to get into that with not only him, but anyone,” Roseman said. “Because that backs you into a corner. And we say this to our players, ‘Our word is all we got.’ So when we tell players something, when we tell other teams something, we’re going to abide by that. So I hate to come up here and be dramatic about anything about anyone on the roster, because, through the course of the season, things come up and opportunities arise. But he’s on the team because we think he can help our team.”

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Bradberry’s inclusion gives the Eagles heavy numbers at cornerback and safety, something Roseman said can be traced back to the trouble the team had in the secondary last year.

The Eagles carried 11 defensive backs, with 2022 undrafted free agent Tristin McCollum making the team after spending last year on the Eagles’ practice squad. Avonte Maddox, technically one of the seven cornerbacks on the initial 53, also has spent some time working at safety during training camp.

Roseman said rebuilding the secondary was a priority this offseason because of the trouble the group had last season, when injuries and inconsistent play contributed to the Eagles finishing 31st in passing yards allowed.

“I feel like I needed to take responsibility for not putting the coaches in a good enough spot in our defensive backfield last year,” he said. “I didn’t want to have it happen again, so I’m excited about the guys that we have. I’m excited about the opportunities here, certainly, over the next 24 hours to continue to add to that group as well.”

McCollum played three games for the Eagles toward the end of last season as a practice squad call-up and signed a reserve/futures deal to stay with the team in the offseason. The 25-year-old played 59 special-teams snaps and 29 defensive snaps last year and featured heavily throughout this year’s preseason. McCollum, whose twin brother, Zyon, plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, had a team-high nine tackles in the Eagles’ 26-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings to close out the preseason last Saturday.

“Tristin obviously flashed in games and did some really good things in games that we all saw,” Sirianni said. “But also, he was consistent in practice. He has great athletic ability that can help on special teams, and we know how he can affect the game on special teams as well.

“As sad as we are for the guys that don’t make it … for whatever reason, that sits with you longer‚ the ones that don’t make it and the hard conversations that you have, but a guy like Tristin, you’re really excited for.”