Tag: Nigel Bradham

Broncos should consider signing LB Nigel Bradham

With two inside linebackers injured, the Broncos should consider signing Nigel Bradham.

With Todd Davis (calf) out at least a week and Justin Strnad (wrist) expected to miss the entire season, the Denver Broncos should consider signing another inside linebacker to add depth and competition.

One candidate the team could consider is 30-year-old veteran Nigel Bradham, who was unexpectedly cut by the New Orleans Saints on Monday. Bradham (6-2, 241 pounds) entered the league as a fourth-round pick out of Florida State with the Buffalo Bills in 2012.

He spent the first four years of his career in Buffalo before joining the Philadelphia Eagles in 2016. Bradham was a regular starter in Philadelphia, totaling 348 tackles, 11 quarterback hits, five sacks and 22 pass breakups over the last four seasons.

Bradham was healthy for 12 games last season and recorded 61 tackles, one interception, five pass breakups and one fumble recovery. If signed by Denver, Bradham could serve as a special teams regular and rotational linebacker on defense, subbing in for passing situations.

If the Broncos place Strnad on injured reserve, they will have one open spot on the 80-man offseason roster. Bradham would make sense as a replacement.

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Saints parting with Nigel Bradham is big news for Zack Baun

The New Orleans Saints cut Nigel Bradham, giving a nod to their young linebackers like Zack Baun, Kaden Elliss, Chase Hansen, and Joe Bachie

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On paper, Nigel Bradham is the sort of player most teams would want to have on their roster. He’s an NFL veteran entering his ninth year at the pro level, and a Super Bowl champion from his time with the Philadelphia Eagles. Even if he didn’t start ahead of promising youngsters like rookie draft pick Zack Baun or Alex Anzalone, having someone with as many quality reps to his credit is valuable.

But that didn’t stop the New Orleans Saints from releasing Bradham on Monday, just weeks after signing him and with just a handful of padded practice sessions on the books. So what gives?

One explanation would be how impressive the new additions have looked in training camp. Baun and Anzalone specifically have dominated practice reps with the first-team defense, playing together with Demario Davis in base sets and rotating in and out next to Davis in more-common nickel formations. And Baun’s college experience as a hand-in-the-dirt defender on the line of scrimmage gives him some versatility that Bradham lacks.

But it’s deeper than Bradham not being able to crack the starting lineup. The Saints have several backups they’re invested in, like second-year pros Kaden Elliss (a sixth-round draft pick out of Idaho) and Chase Hansen (a college safety from Utah who lost his rookie year to an injury). Longtime special teams captain Craig Robertson is also in the mix, and so is rookie standout Joe Bachie.

Bachie, an undrafted free agent signed from Michigan State, made a quick impression on Saints linebackers coach Michael Hodges (who is also very high on Baun). He just hopes Bachie can chip in enough on special teams to make the roster.

Hodges talked up Bachie in his Aug. 19 media conference call: “I love Joe, he is so smart. He could play all three positions for us and that’s without even repping at the sam linebacker. He’s just such a veteran linebacker, inside linebacker, meaning this guy’s been playing mike linebacker since he’s been nine years old so there are a lot of things that carry over.”

So if Bradham wasn’t going to start next to Davis or make an impact on the kicking game (he never played more than 59 special teams snaps in a full season during his four years with the Eagles), the Saints probably figured that they would be better served running with the first- and second-year linebackers instead.

We’ll see if that gamble plays off. But so far, it’s easy to see why they’re so encouraged with the youth movement on defense.

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Saints release recently-signed linebacker Nigel Bradham

The New Orleans Saints released LB Nigel Bradham, who was signed from the Philadelphia Eagles just before the Saints opened training camp.

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The New Orleans Saints pulled the plug on their experiment with veteran linebacker Nigel Bradham on Monday, releasing the veteran after having signed him to a contract just before training camp started. ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported the news of Bradham’s release, which was confirmed by Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football.

Bradham got few looks with the Saints’ first-team defense in practice sessions open to the media, which was due more to the number of quality starting-caliber linebackers the Saints have on the roster. They rarely use more than two linebackers at a time, and All-Pro starter Demario Davis is locked in, leaving just one spot available for either Alex Anzalone or Zack Baun — and then Bradham got thrown in. That’s not including backups the team values highly like Craig Robertson, Kaden Elliss, Joe Bachie, or Kiko Alonso (once he returns from the PUP list).

The ninth-year NFL veteran raised some eyebrows last week when he expressed how eager he was to work with the Saints, a team known for its winning culture; just two years ago, he won a Super Bowl ring with the Philadelphia Eagles, so his comments didn’t exactly sit well with their fanbase.

Maybe releasing Bradham now will allow him to find another NFL opportunity while teams are still practicing daily in training camp. It’s also possible that this could be a procedural move so the Saints can give someone else a shot before bringing him back, but that doesn’t feel likely in this situation. They did recently try out a pair of young cornerbacks after losing rookie Tino Ellis to injured reserve. Still, stay tuned for updates.

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Former Philadelphia Eagles’ LB Nigel Bradham cut by the New Orleans Saints

Nigel Bradham released by the Saints

He’s unlikely to return to Philadelphia, but Nigel Bradham is looking for a new home after the veteran linebacker was released by the New Orleans Saints per Adam Schefter.

Bradham was allowed to hit the open market after the Eagles declined to pick up his $10 million option, and he eventually signed with the Saints in free agency. Bradham made headlines last week when he suggested that the Saints were the only team he’s joined with a winning culture.

Nigel Bradham eager to join the Saints, “a place where it’s known for winning”

Former Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills linebacker Nigel Bradham wanted to join the New Orleans Saints because of their winning culture

Nigel Bradham has played a lot of football. He’s entering his ninth season as a pro, having spent four full years with the Buffalo Bills and another four seasons on the Philadelphia Eagles. But he says the New Orleans Saints offer him something neither of those teams were able to.

“It’s definitely a different type of environment, a different culture. Because the last two organizations I went to weren’t really winning organizations,” Bradham said in his introductory media conference call. “So when you come to a place where it’s known for winning and known for being in the postseason, you see a different type of culture they have and the expectations that they have naturally and what they expect out of you as a player.”

That’s a bold claim to make, sure, but the Saints have backed it up. They’ve won their division three years in a row, whereas the Eagles and Bills combined for two division titles in the eight years he played with them (the Eagles won the NFC East twice, in 2017 and 2019). But Bradham did help the Eagles win Super Bowl LII just a few years ago, lending some skepticism to his thinking here. Maybe he meant that the Saints are further along now than his previous teams were when he joined them.

Bradham has also been on the receiving end of the Saints’ winning culture before. His Bills lost to the Saints 35-17 back in 2013, and his Eagles were trounced twice in 2018 (losing 48-7 in the regular season, and falling 20-14 in the playoffs). He’s probably happier to be dishing out that kind of punishment rather than getting thumped with it.

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Nigel Bradham appears to rip the Eagles during an interview with the Saints media

Nigel Bradham praises the New Orleans Saints winning culture

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The Eagles rivalry with the New Orleans Saints has been brewing for the past three years and this year’s matchup on December 13 will be must-see TV.

Nigel Bradham is a talented linebacker and when the Eagles chose to embark on a youth movement, he had his 2020 option declined and was allowed to test the market in free agency. Now with the New Orleans Saints, Bradham appears to be happy and during a zoom interview with the media, the veteran linebacker talked about his newfound happiness in a winning culture via Katherine Terrell of The Athletic.

Bradham could have been just thinking off the top of his head, but his two previous stops if you don’t include the Eagles are the Buffalo Bills who drafted him in 2012 and the Florida State Seminoles, where he attended college.

The idea that Bradham would say, “It’s definitely a different type of environment” and, “the last 2 organizations I went to, it wasn’t really a winning organization” is laughable at best and disrespectful considering Bradham just won a ring with the Eagles in 2017.

Since Bradham entered the NFL, the Bills are 61-67, the Saints are 76-52 and the Eagles are 69-59 with the one Lombardi Trophy.

Rookie Saints linebacker Zack Baun changes his jersey number again

New Orleans Saints LB Zack Baun, a 2020 NFL Draft pick out of Wisconsin, has changed his jersey number after the Saints signed Nigel Bradham

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Good news, everyone!

Zack Baun, the New Orleans Saints third-round draft pick out of Wisconsin, has again changed his jersey number. Having worn No. 56 for the Badgers, he didn’t have many options when he first went pro — initially picking No. 40, which is a terrible, no-good look for a linebacker.

However, he switched to No. 53 after some consideration. And that’s a fine choice; A.J. Klein wore it well for the Saints the last few years, and before that it was repped proudly by Ramon Humber, the special teams ace who endeared himself to fans as “the Humberjack.”

But when the Saints signed former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham, the rookie was quick to oblige the veteran. Baun gave Bradham No. 53, which Bradham used in previous stops with the Eagles and Buffalo Bills.

So what number will Baun be wearing now? He’s listed on the official Saints website’s roster as No. 57, which Rickey Jackson made great for the Saints while building his Pro Football Hall of Fame resume. That’s a bold choice, but not a new one; Baun wasn’t able to pick it at first because defensive end Noah Spence held it, but Spence suffered a season-ending ACL injury while training over the summer.

There’s a compelling argument to be made that Jackson’s No. 57 should be retired and hung in the Superdome rafters. He was the first player to wear black and gold and be inducted to the Hall of Fame, the brightest star of the legendary Dome Patrol defenses, and still holds the franchise record for career sacks (though Cameron Jordan gets a little closer every year).

Unfortunately, the decision to retire jersey numbers is above our pay grade. In the meantime, we’ll be the first to admit that No. 57 is a great number for Baun, Maybe some of Jackson’s greatness is still attached to it.

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Saints salary cap space update after the latest signings and opt-outs

With the NFL’s deadline for players to opt out of the 2020 season come and gone, the New Orleans Saints now know exactly who they’ll be working with in training camp. They’ve also made their first wave of roster cuts to bring their numbers down to …

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With the NFL’s deadline for players to opt out of the 2020 season come and gone, the New Orleans Saints now know exactly who they’ll be working with in training camp. They’ve also made their first wave of roster cuts to bring their numbers down to the NFL-mandated 80 contracts, and added a veteran free agent or two.

So where does that place them against the salary cap?

Per ESPN’s Field Yates, the Saints are now ranked 25th in official cap space at just over $7.8 million (to be exact: $7,821,902). That includes transactions like the signing of wide receiver Bennie Fowler at the veteran’s minimum, and the opt-outs of tight ends Cole Wick and Jason Vander Laan.

But they aren’t finished just yet, because their deal with linebacker Nigel Bradham hasn’t been finalized and filed with the league office. Still, that shouldn’t drastically shift their salary cap outlook.

What will be most interesting to track in the coming months is whether the Saints choose to hammer out long-term extensions with upcoming free agents. Mainstays including linebacker Demario Davis, running back Alvin Kamara, and free safety Marcus Williams are all entering the final years of their contracts, as are tight end Jared Cook and quarterback Jameis Winston.

The trouble arises when you consider that the 2021 salary cap is expected to nosedive from its current ceiling ($198.2 million). The NFL anticipates big losses in revenue this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but negotiations with the NFL Players Association mean the cap will be set no lower than $175 million next year. That runs against the assumption the Saints have been working with over the last decade, which has put their faith in an always-increasing cap.

So they may not be able to keep everyone. Team leaders like safety Vonn Bell and running back Mark Ingram have left in recent years, partly due to the Saints working a little too tight to the salary cap (and also due to dubious advice from their agents). Will someone from the list above end up joining them?

One move the Saints may consider is rolling over unspent cap space into the next fiscal year. That would certainly help them maneuver the 2021 salary cap, but it may be preferable to get the jump on these contract situations while there’s still time. Working with limited resources is tough enough, but fighting those limitations and a ticking clock is a tall order.

 

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Saints fill out the 90-man roster with veteran WR Bennie Fowler

The New Orleans Saints will add ex-Giants and -Broncos wide receiver Bennie Fowler, a veteran free agent, to their roster for training camp.

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The New Orleans Saints roster lost two players this week when backup tight ends Cole Wick and Jason Vander Laan opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, but the Saints didn’t waste any time in getting back to maximum capacity.

First, they agreed to terms with former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham on a one-year contract. Then, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reported that the Saints plan to sign another free agent: wide receiver Bennie Fowler.

Fowler, 29, appeared in 18 games with the New York Giants over the last two years after a four-year Denver Broncos stint (winning a Super Bowl ring in 2015). Boasting a 4.38-second time in the 40-yard dash, Fowler does have the speed the sprint deep downfield, but he has never played more than a bit part in NFL offenses — totaling just 95 catches for 1,090 yards and six touchdown grabs in six seasons. Still, that raw speed is a trait the Saints lack at receiver, so he should add an element to training camp that would have otherwise been missing.

Before he can sign on the dotted line and join the team, however, Fowler must first pass a physical as well as two separate COVID-19 tests. So while this deal is all but done, it might take a few days to be made official.

But with Fowler and Bradham in the fold, the Saints now have all 90 spots filled on their summer roster. Teams must trim that total down to 80 players by Aug. 16, and some squads around the league have already begun cutting “camp bodies” and similar long shots on the roster bubble. But the Saints will have a few weeks to see how well-conditioned everyone is and run through individual drills in practice, even if pads aren’t allowed before cuts. So they’ll try to make the most of the opportunities in front of them.

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Saints agree to terms with former Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham

The New Orleans Saints agreed to terms with free agent linebacker Nigel Bradham, who started four years with the Philadelphia Eagles.

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The New Orleans Saints agreed to terms on a one-year contract with former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham on Thursday, reported ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Bradham had been a free agent since the Eagles released him back in February.

Bradham was one of the more experienced linebackers available in free agency; turning 31 in September, he started all 64 games he appeared in for the Eagles (including the playoffs) since joining them back in 2016. Before that, he started 38 of 57 games played with the Buffalo Bills as a fourth-round draft pick in 2012.

The veteran is known for his skills in defending the run and for dropping back into pass coverage; last season, he notched 61 combined tackles while intercepting a pass and deflecting five others in 12 games played. At this late stage in the offseason, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a stronger resume to find in free agency.

Bradham’s arrival comes a day after Saints coach Sean Payton said that Kiko Alonso may be unavailable for the opening of training camp; Alonso suffered a torn ACL in the Saints’ playoff loss to the Minnesota Vikings in January. If nothing else, adding Bradham to the mix with Alonso, Alex Anzalone, and rookie draft pick Zack Baun ensures that the Saints will be trotting out the best possible No. 2 linebacker to run with 2019 All-Pro Demario Davis.

Other names to remember include former Pittsburgh Steelers backup Anthony Chickillo, Michigan State Spartans rookie free agent Joe Bachie, and longtime Saints special teams captain Craig Robertson. Plus last year’s late-round gem, Kaden Elliss out of Idaho, who was carving out a role for himself before suffering his own ACL injury.

Because the Saints had two players opt out due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic — backup tight ends Cole Wick and Jason Vander Laan — they won’t have to make a corresponding roster move to add Bradham. All NFL teams must cut their rosters down to 80 players by Aug. 17, however, so stay tuned for updates in the weeks ahead.

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