ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals have plenty of youth within their secondary, though a veteran splash to their cornerback room has been suggested for months now.
After adding Sean Murphy-Bunting in free agency, the Cardinals look for the former Super Bowl champion to lead an extremely inexperienced room of guys that either are rookies (Max Melton, Jaden Davis, Elijah Jones) or are second-year players (Kei’Trel Clark, Starling Thomas, Garrett Williams).
With the Cardinals hoping to turn the corner in 2024, B/R says they should shore up the secondary with a move for Philadelphia Eagles CB James Bradberry for a fairly cheap price in the form of a 2025 sixth-round pick.
“The Arizona Cardinals have to show signs of growth in Jonathan Gannon’s second year as head coach. Specifically, Gannon needs to show that he can build a better defense out in the desert. That’s his specialty, and the Cards were 31st in scoring and EPA allowed per play on defense,” wrote Alex Ballentine.
“Meanwhile, James Bradberry is coming off a dreadful 2023 season and had a career year when Gannon was the defensive coordinator in 2022.
“The veteran and the coach could help each other out by reuniting. Given Bradberry’s contract and the Eagles’ moves to add Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in the draft, they should be willing to part with him for next to nothing.
“Right now, the Cardinals could be starting rookie Max Melton across from Sean Murphy-Bunting. Bradberry would at least allow Arizona to be more patient with Melton’s development this season.”
The Cardinals have a small track record of bringing in guys their staff is familiar with under Gannon, and for the price point, Bradberry isn’t a bad option.
The Eagles corner has cap hits of $4.3 million and $7.8 million in the final two years of his deal. While Arizona certainly has salary cap room to wiggle with, they might be looking to bet on their youth movement.
“I think it’s pretty simple. It’s highly competitive and it’s up for grabs for guys to go take and earn spots, which is a great problem to have. I’m excited, it’s going to be really good competition,” Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said.
“I want to see a lot of guys take strides during training camp, and I want there to be tough decisions on who’s going to earn certain roles.”
