When the Carolina Panthers officially drafted James Bradberry in the second round of the 2016 draft, he was fixing his mother’s toilet. Yeah, true story.
Now, six years later, the New York Giants have flushed him down theirs.
After months of stringing along the six-year veteran, the Giants finally cut Bradberry loose on Monday afternoon. New York, who apparently could not find a trade for the starting cornerback, had been seeking a separation from his $21.9 million cap hit to clear up space for their incoming 2022 class.
Releasing Bradberry, of course, will help do the trick. As a result, the Giants will now have to devote $11.7 million in dead cap to the release—effectively ending the original three-year, $45 million pact a season short.
Now, naturally, that got us thinking—should the Panthers plunge Bradberry out? Or, are things too clogged as it is in the team’s cornerback room?
Well, unfortunately for all you Bradberries (which is what he should call his fans if he doesn’t already), it’s the latter.
Despite the Panthers having the most salary cap space in the league at the moment, cornerback—surprisingly—is far from this roster’s biggest need. And that $30.7 million worth of cap space, by the way, is more likely to be used on absorbing a piece of say . . . a contract belonging to a veteran quarterback such as Jimmy Garoppolo or Baker Mayfield.
Bradberry, additionally may not come as cheap as some may believe. So if Carolina couldn’t reel back Stephon Gilmore, who is getting $10 million annually over two seasons with Indianapolis, will they really make a concerted push for a lesser quality corner?
The Panthers should be pretty content with what they’ve done at the position. They’ll have 2021 first-rounder Jaycee Horn, newly-extended Donte Jackson, the talented 2020 first-rounder CJ Henderson and a crop of solid depth headlined by Keith Taylor Jr. and Myles Hartsfield.
Even though Bradberry can ball and a reunion with secondary coach Steve Wilks would be a great sight to see, the timing simply isn’t right. (Sorry for dumping on the idea.)
