Doug Pederson on Nigel Bradham: “Have to make better decisions”

Doug Pederson said Wednesday morning he will not be disciplining linebacker Nigel Bradham after news broke Monday of Bradham’s second arrest in four months.

Bradham was arrested in Miami this past Sunday for a second degree misdemeanor concealed weapons charge. He was released on a $300 bond.

In July, Bradham was arrested for assaulting a hotel worker in Miami.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Pederson talked multiple times about how he needs his players to be smarter when they’re away from the NovaCare Complex. He made it clear he was disappointed in Bradham’s decision making during the team’s bye week.

“Obviously my messaging the week before is, ‘Be smart, be careful, protect each other away from the building,’” Pederson said. “Obviously [the arrest] was away from here. Guys have got to make better decisions when they’re away from the building. It’s unfortunate. It’s obviously out of my hands now, it’s a legal matter, but you’ve just got to use your head and be smart in those situations.”

Pederson said he owns rifles, and he likes to hunt, but he couldn’t understand why Bradham would try to bring a loaded gun on an airplane.

“I don’t know why anybody would do that,” Pederson said. “I don’t know all the circumstances around it. And it’s obviously a big deal, to do that. ... We just have to be smart. It is a little surprising that he carried it on.”

But Pederson emphasized multiple times that, until he feels he has the full information and all the details, he will not be disciplining Bradham. The 27-year-old Florida native will be practicing Wednesday, and Pederson expects Bradham to play this Sunday against the Lions in Detroit.

“He’s been talked to by a lot of people already, and he understands,” Pederson said. “I’m just going to wait and see what happens, and I’ll keep talking to him like normal, and all the guys. Just reminding them we’ve got to make good, smart decisions away from the building.”

Pederson was asked for his level of concern about Bradham, considering it’s the linebacker’s second arrest in four months since the Eagles signed him this past offseason.

“It’s obviously a concern,” Pederson said. “Both of these were incidences that were away from here, and they’re out of your control that way. This is where guys need to just be smart about it. It’s their livelihood, it’s their families. In everything we do. It’s no different if I’m away from this building, and the things that I do when you’re not the head football coach and you’re with your family. You’ve just got to make those smart choices.”