With Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane now in their ninth years in Buffalo, it would seem the Panthers-to-Bills pipeline would be on the verge of closing. One defender, however, would represent another option to join Curtis Samuel in keeping it open.
The Bills are set to meet with James Bradberry today, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes. The Eagles cut the veteran cornerback last month, moving on after three seasons. Bradberry, 31, did not play for the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia edition due to injury.
McDermott and Beane’s Panthers tenures overlapped with the team’s 2016 Bradberry draft choice, a second-round move made in the wake of then-GM Dave Gettleman rescinding Josh Norman‘s franchise tag. Bradberry became a starter that year, his first of many such seasons in a team’s lineup, before seeing McDermott and then Beane leave for Buffalo. As Bradberry’s career winds down, he will huddle up with two of the staffers that played a role in shaping his career path.
Several of Bradberry’s former teammates already stopped through Buffalo for stints. The Bills have rostered the likes of Samuel, A.J. Klein, Kelvin Benjamin, Star Lotulelei, Daryl Williams and Vernon Butler during the McDermott-Beane tenure. They also added Norman for a two-season stint. Samuel, whom the Panthers added during Beane’s final draft with the team, represents the last link to this once-fruitful pipeline. It would be interesting if a 2025 move could keep it going, and Bradberry is now likely available at a near-veteran-minimum rate.
An Achilles tear sidelined Bradberry last year, but the two-season Eagles starter was not set to hold a similar role due to the team’s CB additions. Bradberry had been working at safety after an offseason position change, but he said following Super Bowl LIX he would prefer to move back to corner. The former Giants free agent signee has only played corner, doing so as a 124-game starter in a career that included a 2020 Pro Bowl and a Super Bowl LVII start. The Eagles parted with each of their three CB regulars from that game this offseason, cutting Bradberry and Darius Slay and seeing the Lions sign Avonte Maddox.
The Bills have a need on the boundary opposite the recently extended Christian Benford. They have not re-signed Rasul Douglas, who will turn 30 this year. Douglas remains a free agent. The Bills did bring back Dane Jackson, though he does not technically qualify for the above-mentioned pipeline due to having stopped through Carolina well after McDermott and Beane’s departures. The draft will be a place to look for Buffalo at corner, but the team will see if Bradberry can be a fit first.