June 29, 2018

Eagles LB Nigel Bradham suspended one game

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham has been suspended for the Birds' opener against the Atlanta Falcons, according to a report from Field Yates of ESPN.

Source: Eagles LB Nigel Brahdam has been suspended for the first game of the 2018 NFL season.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) June 29, 2018

Bradham confirmed the suspension, which he seems to be accepting, and offered his apologies.

I would like to apologize to my fans, coaches, teammates and the entire eagles organization for the 1 game suspension.This stems from a July 2016 incident and the matter is now resolved.I look forward to giving it my all this season and helping the team win another Championship
— Nigel Bradham (@NigelBradham_13) June 29, 2018

The incident Bradham is referring to is when he was arrested for assaulting an elderly cabana boy in a dispute over an umbrella.

When Jordan Hicks was lost for the season with a ruptured Achilles in 2017, Bradham instantaneously became the most solid and trustworthy linebacker on the roster. He took over Hicks' role of relaying the play calls from Jim Schwartz to the rest of the defense.

"I think one of the unsung stories of this season has been Nigel picking up that communication," said Jim Schwartz the week of the Super Bowl. "Nigel has always been a fiery guy. Sometimes I think he runs about five extra miles trying to get to the pile to make sure he's delivering whatever message he's going to deliver and it brings us a lot of energy, it really does. But that's a tough thing to do when you've got the coach speaking in your ear about, ‘Hey, remind this guy this and we're going to this call, but check it to this if something else is going on’. And he's done a really good job handling all that communication, and it's been fairly seamless."

Bradham signed a five year contract with the Eagles this offseason worth $40 million. A quick look at Bradham's numbers during his two years so far in Philly:

Nigel Bradham	Tackles	Sacks	INT-PBU	FF-FR
2016	102	2.0	1-5	2-1
2017	88	1.0	0-8	1-1
TOTAL	190	3.0	1-13	3-2

Bradham's one game suspension is a modest punishment that the Eagles should be able to navigate rather easily.

Update: The Eagles released a statement:

“We have been in contact with Nigel and the NFL regarding his suspension. We respect the league’s decision on this matter and we are disappointed that Nigel put himself in this position. Nigel has taken responsibility and expressed to us through his words and actions that he has learned from his mistake. We will continue to be supportive of him throughout this process.”