Eagles' Bradham goes from shaky start to stable presence on defense

PHILADELPHIA – Doug Pederson hadn't yet coached a game in Philadelphia when he was asked in July 2016 whether the team was going to release linebacker Nigel Bradham or not.

Bradham, whom the team signed in March that year, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault following an incident at the Hilton Bentley Miami in South Beach.

The Eagles stuck by him.

But a few months later, with the Eagles on a bye, Bradham, a Crawfordville, Fla., native, was arrested at Miami International Airport after TSA employees discovered a loaded handgun in his backpack.

The Eagles again stuck by him.

The patience has paid off.

Bradham, 28, who was also cited for marijuana possession in 2013, has played some of the best football of his career in an Eagles uniform. The former Buffalo Bills linebacker started every game in 2016 and registered 102 combined tackles, two off a career-high. And this year, Bradham, whose recent legal troubles are behind him, according to ESPN, has been one of the team's most versatile defensive players.

When "MIKE" linebacker Jordan Hicks ruptured his Achilles in October, Bradham was forced into a leadership role, one he grabbed by the horns with the responsibility of wearing the radio communication in his helmet. In the game Hicks got hurt, on October 12 in Carolina, Bradham had one of the best games of his career.

In 15 regular season games, Bradham led the Eagles with 88 total tackles.

And as he heads into the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, Bradham said he was appreciative that the Eagles stuck with him.

“It means everything, believing in me and my character and understanding me as a person and not just someone they didn’t know," Bradham said Thursday. "They really treated me as family, and that’s what that was. I felt that and it’s grown.

"For us to be where we’re at today, it’s a blessing. There are reasons why that happened. Everything happens for a reason. Whatever reason it was, it’s definitely fortunate to have this journey that we’re on. It’s been an amazing ride. It’s been up and down, but I wouldn’t want it any other way."

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Safety and team leader Malcolm Jenkins said Bradham's transition to the defensive signal caller went without issue.

"I’ve been on defenses where you lose your MIKE linebacker and things get crazy," Jenkins said. "They’re not used to making calls, getting everybody lined up, communicating and also doing their job. But he’s doing that and playing multiple positions, too. It’s not like he just moved to the MIKE linebacker and that’s it. He’s MIKE in base, and all of a sudden, we go to dime packages and he’s WILL. We go to nickel and he’s playing WILL. Sometimes, I’ll just switch with him just because.

"So he’s having to learn all these different positions, take over that role of being the signal caller. But he’s also our enforcer. He’s the guy that we look for to get big hits, fly around, talk some trash and bring a little juice to the defense. A lot of times, that’s hard to juggle all of that. He’s really been kind of the unsung hero of our defense this year."

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That "unsung hero" belief was shared by defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz earlier in the week.

"I think one of the unsung stories of this season has been Nigel picking up that communication," Schwartz said. "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, who was Buffalo's fourth-round pick in 2012 after playing at Florida State, has played more games (8) against Patriots quarterback Tom Brady than any other player on the Eagles' defense.

Since the Patriots have won nine consecutive AFC East division titles and 14 of 15, it's no surprise that Bradham's record against New England is 1-7.

Preparation this week and next will be key, Bradham said, in not getting caught up in playing against the future Hall of Fame quarterback going for his sixth championship.

"You know what you’re going to get with Tom," Bradham said. "He is what he is for a reason. That’s why you have to be prepared. You have to understand the ways he wants to attack you and you have to pretty much make his checks before he makes him.

"You have to play mistake-free. You have to be sound. You have to be on your game."

Those things, of course, are much easier said than done. Brady, Bill Belichick, and co. have made careers out of forcing other teams into mistakes.

Beyond next week's Super Bowl, Bradham's future is an unanswered question. He'll be a free agent at year's end. Bradham said he'd like to remain an Eagle in the future.

"My style, my passion, and energy, everything fits well here," Bradham said. "We’ll see. Obviously, I’m focused on this game."

A little over a year ago, with three legal incidents attached to his name in three years, a Super Bowl probably seemed so far away.

“It’s crazy when you sit back and think about it," Bradham said. "But it’s definitely a dream come true.”

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Contact reporter Jeff Neiburg at (302) 983-6772, jneiburg@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @Jeff_Neiburg.