James Bradberry is defined by his accountability, from Super Bowl mistake to midseason struggles

For Eagles cornerback Mario Goodrich, eight-year veteran cornerback James Bradberry boasts a sense of style similar to his personality — “subtle,” yet sharp.

“Swagberry,” as defensive tackle Jordan Davis likes to call him, is soft-spoken with a sense of humor so dry that it often takes a moment for his teammates to realize he’s making a joke. Cornerback Darius Slay said he has to pay attention to ensure he picks up on Bradberry’s humor, which is as captivating as Bradberry’s simple, smart sense of style.

“Everything JB put on, he be clean and sharp,” Slay said. “I don’t know if it’s the bald head or what make it better, but his swag is on a million.”

But when it comes to being accountable to his teammates and to the public for his shortcomings on the field, the 30-year-old Bradberry is as loud as can be. That was apparent in the immediate aftermath of the Eagles’ Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in February. With less than two minutes remaining in the game, the Chiefs driving down the field seeking the go-ahead score, Bradberry was called for defensive holding on a third-and-8 incompletion to give the Chiefs a fresh set of downs and enable them to run down the clock. Kicker Harrison Butker capped the drive with a field goal to seal the 38-35 title win.

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In the locker room after the game, Bradberry set up shop at his stall, owning up to the infraction without hesitation. Eight months later, with the Eagles set for a rematch against the Chiefs on Monday night, Bradberry is channeling that same sense of accountability as the secondary looks to improve on its No. 28 ranking in passing yards allowed heading into Week 11.

“I just know I need to do better at my job,” Bradberry said. “So that’s the way I can help us go to wherever we’re trying to go. And that’s kind of my mindset going into the second half. Just try to improve my play. That way, hopefully, together as a group we’ll play better.”

When Bradberry’s mother, Rosie, dropped him and his younger sister, Takia, off at school as children in Pleasant Grove, Ala., she left them with the same message for the day: Think before you act.

As a minister, Rosie instructed her children to make smart decisions, but she also told them that no one but Jesus is perfect. Mistakes happen.

“Your heart’s desire should always be to do the right thing,” Rosie said. “And with that being said, when you make a mistake, acknowledgement of that mistake is equally important as trying to do the right thing.”

“Life really is about accountability. That’s how you get better as a person, on and off the field.”

Even as a child, Rosie said that Bradberry was always quiet and a keen listener. As he grew into adulthood, he told his mother that he would often hear her words of wisdom in the back of his head.

He carried that lesson about making mistakes with him to his football endeavors, from Pleasant Grove High School to Samford University in Homewood, Ala.

As he got older and his pursuit of football grew more intense, he started to watch film and analyze his performances. Bradberry was a three-time All-Southern Conference selection in his four seasons at Samford, but occasional mistakes were inevitable. He said he understood that he couldn’t hide from the truth of the tape.

“‘They always say, ‘The big eye in the sky don’t lie,’” said Bradberry, who broke in with the Carolina Panthers as a second-round draft pick in 2016. “Most of the time, you can say this or that happened. But at the end of the day, when you go back and watch film, you’re gonna see what actually happened. And you can actually see when you go watch film whatever mistakes you make, they’re gonna show. You can be disgruntled about it. You can try to point fingers at somebody else, but at the end of the day, film’s gonna say what it needs to say.”

That was his exact approach to coming to terms with his holding penalty in the waning minutes of the Super Bowl. Looking back, Davis said that Bradberry was doing whatever he could to make a play, and one penalty wasn’t the sole reason for their loss to the Chiefs.

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But it’s football, and mistakes happen. Bradberry wouldn’t let one play taint his view on his season as a whole, in which he started all 17 regular-season games and posted a team-high 17 pass breakups (which ranked third in the league), plus three interceptions and two tackles for a loss.

“Life really is about accountability,” he said. “That’s how you get better as a person, on and off the field. And I feel like that was really the only position I needed to play. That was really the only move I needed to make, really, in that position. I had committed a foul and the foul was called. Had the foul not been called, I wouldn’t have said anything about it. But the foul was called, so I had to own up to it.”

In the offseason when he became a free agent, Bradberry fielded what he told The Inquirer at the time were “more lucrative offers” from other teams. But he chose to return to Philadelphia on a three-year, $38 million contract with $20 million in guaranteed money. He said he enjoyed working with his coaches and his teammates over the course of their Super Bowl run in his first season with the Eagles.

Throughout the highs and one substantial low of last season, Bradberry also learned how to appreciate the passionate nature of the Eagles fan base, especially when the public criticized his play.

“You really just got to accept the good with the bad, and you got to understand that it comes with it,” he said. “Of course, you don’t really like the bad. You don’t want the bad to happen. But it is what it is. It’s part of the gig, and I understand it and I respect it.”

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Even though Bradberry has called Philadelphia his home for less than two full seasons, he has made an effort to connect with the city. Growing up in the church instilled within him a passion for service, especially within the elderly community, seeing as his late grandmother, Glennie Marie Wilson, suffered from dementia.

Before training camp, Bradberry visited the Simpson House senior care facility in West Philadelphia and donated Hoka sneakers to its residents.

At the end of the bye week, Bradberry supported Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence by participating in its annual Fashion Touchdown event in South Philadelphia. He combined his sense of style with a desire to give back to the local community by strutting down the runway for a meaningful cause.

“I guess you could say my salary is because the city supports us,” he said. “They do a good job of coming to the games and they support the team. And they cheer us when we’re doing good and, of course, they boo us when we’re doing bad, but they’re still there. So I think it’s part of my responsibility to support the city, too, as well, as far as giving back.”

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True to his personality, Bradberry “didn’t do too much talking” when he first arrived in Philadelphia in 2022 after two seasons with the New York Giants, according to Goodrich. After training camp, Bradberry gradually became more vocal on the field and in the meeting room. But the entire time, Bradberry led by example, setting the standard alongside Slay for how the secondary should play.

Collectively, the group ranked No. 1 in the league in fewest passing yards allowed (3,057) and No. 10 in fewest passing touchdowns (22). The defense racked up 17 interceptions, the fifth-best total in the NFL. Goodrich appreciated having that veteran leadership in his rookie year, and he was excited to hear in the offseason that Bradberry was returning to the team.

“He’s hard on himself,” Goodrich said. “So I feel like that’s just holding yourself accountable. And when it comes to just his teammates, he wants everybody to do their best. So just holding us accountable. Because he played at a high level. So he’s just trying to get younger guys like us to play at a high level also.”

But the secondary, which has been impacted by injuries to players including starting slot corner Avonte Maddox, has struggled this season to live up to the standards set by last year’s group. Going into Week 11, the 2023 defense ranked No. 28 in passing yards allowed (2,313) and last in passing touchdowns against (19). The defense has only collected four interceptions, which is the fourth-fewest total in the NFL.

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Individually, Bradberry hasn’t performed to his standard. According to Pro Football Focus, he has allowed a passer rating of 118.7 against opposing quarterbacks, a significant drop-off from his finish in 2022 (54.2) and his career average (84.3). Bradberry has been in coverage for six touchdowns, which is three times the total PFF attributed to him last season.

However, Bradberry has shown flashes of his 2022 form. In eight games played this season, Bradberry has six pass breakups, five of which have come in his last five contests. Most recently against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9, Bradberry defended a pass intended for receiver Jalen Tolbert on fourth-and-8 with 1 minute, 18 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. A first down would have given the Cowboys new life and a chance to score the go-ahead touchdown. After the game, rookie cornerback Eli Ricks said that there was “nobody else” he would’ve rather watched make that play than Bradberry.

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“It was really good seeing him make that play in that moment,” Ricks said. “Because he’s been working through a lot of stuff. A lot of minor injuries that he’s been working through, and we’ve been seeing that. We’ve been knowing what he’s been playing through this whole time.”

Bradberry isn’t making any excuses. On the cusp of the Super Bowl rematch, he is setting his individual bar high for the remainder of the season.

“I don’t want to say I want to play perfect, but that’s my goal,” Bradberry said. “Play perfect throughout the game. I’m a veteran. I’ve been doing it for a long time and I expect that of myself.”