September 25, 2023

Report says Eagles' James Bradberry will start at nickel corner against Buccaneers

The Eagles will go with veteran James Bradberry at slot cornerback on Monday night.

By Evan Macy
PhillyVoice Staff

Kate Frese/For PhillyVoice

James Bradberry is a temporary solution at slot corner, but his real value is on the outside.

The Eagles are in "next man up" mode and it's only Week 3.

After an exceptionally lucky year on the injury front during their 2022 Super Bowl run, the Birds have had a bevy of ailments to deal with this season in the early going — most notably perhaps the loss of slot corner Avonte Maddox for the season.

Earlier this offseason the team lost Zech McPhearson, their second best slot corner, for the season.

With the Buccaneers next on the schedule, a 7:15 p.m. kickoff on a Monday Night Football double slate, the Eagles are apparently going to be shuffling things around in the secondary in Maddox's absence.

Sources: The #Eagles will start All-Pro CB James Bradberry at nickel tonight vs the #Buccaneers.

Expect to see Bradberry frequently matched up with Tampa’s dynamic slot receiver Chris Godwin.

Philly lost its starting slot corner Avonte Maddox Week 2 with a torn pec. pic.twitter.com/WOLZobHVL9
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) September 25, 2023

Bradberry was among the NFL's best outside corners last season but the Eagles clearly prefer his talent on the inside more than anyone else on the roster. They also are likely anticipating that Chris Godwin will be lining up a lot in the slot Monday night. Josh Jobe will play on the outside alongside Darius Slay, who'll almost assuredly be handling Mike Evans duty.

Keelee Ringo, Mario Goodwich and Eli Ricks — three relatively inexperienced unknowns — round up the other corners currently on the Eagles roster.

Follow Evan on Twitter:@evan_macy

Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports