:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59000313/usa_today_10233988.0.jpg)
The NFL’s legal tampering period began earlier today, which means all of the Philadelphia Eagles’ free agents are currently allowed to negotiate with other teams. And it appears there’s already a hot market for at least two of the 14 players.
Impending free agent linebacker Nigel Bradham is drawing interest from a number of teams, according to NJ.com.
Three hours into the NFL’s legal tampering period, there are at least 8-10 teams interested in signing Bradham, according to a league source.
Bradham is arguably the best 4-3 outside linebacker on the market. As such, his price tag might be higher than what the Eagles can reasonably afford.
From what I’ve personally heard, it’s unlikely Bradham is going to be back. Peter King reported as much last week as well.
Potentially losing Bradham obviously hurts the Eagles’ defense. He’s played the most snaps of any Philly linebacker over the past two seasons. Without him, the Eagles are down to an injury-prone Jordan Hicks and inconsistent Mychal Kendricks are their most proven options.
To replace Bradham, the Birds could look into signing a more affordable linebacker like Tahir Whitehead or Josh Bynes. They’ll also likely pick at least one linebacker in the 2018 NFL Draft. Maybe the team believes 2017 fifth-round pick Nate Gerry has the potential to step up in Year 2. We’ll see.
In other news, impending free agent Trey Burton is drawing a lot of interest as well.
I expected there to be a robust market for Eagles TE Trey Burton and it sounds like there is. About a half dozen serious suitors, sources say. One I've heard consistently for over a week now: Detroit Lions.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 12, 2018
Earlier this month, one reporter said Burton could have as many as 16 (!) teams interested in him. This is how you know Burton has a good agent.
Seriously, tough, Burton isn’t likely to be back with the Eagles. He’ll have better offers in terms of money and playing time elsewhere.
It would be a little funny if Burton ended up with the Lions considering he a threw a touchdown pass against Matt Patricia’s defense in the Super Bowl, which the Eagles won, by the way. I’ll always remember the frustrated look on his face after that play.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10410245/Screen_Shot_2018_03_12_at_3.34.52_PM.png)
Burton’s potential departure hurts the Eagles’ tight end depth and their special teams unit.
In the case of Bradham and Burton, it would be ideal to keep them around. It’s just not realistic, though, since the Eagles don’t have the cap space for them. With that in mind, Eagles fans should be rooting for them to get big deals in order to help Philadelphia’s compensatory draft pick formula for 2019.