Eagles stay or go: Cornerback

During the early part of the NFL offseason, we're taking a position-by-position looks at which players will likely be back with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, and which ones likely won't. Today we'll look at cornerback.

Regarding the polls below, they are your votes on what you think the Eagles should do, not necessarily what you think they will do. Please think of them more as approval polls for each player.

Darius Slay

Last offseason, just before the official start of free agency, Slay tweeted that he was moving on from Philly, while all the major national sports news organizations reported that he was going to be released. When the start of the new league year rolled around, no official announcement of Slay's release came from the team, leaving open the slim possibility that he could remain on the roster. Slay's representation and the Eagles continued to negotiate through the evening and found common ground on a re-worked deal.

Slay's weird offseason continued into the regular season, when he had a knee scope after a Week 14 loss to Dallas during which he played very well. The typical recovery from a knee scope is quick, but Slay ended up missing the final four games of the regular season, three of which were losses. He did return for the playoffs and was named a Pro Bowl alternate.

#JimmyVerdict: Slay's contract is far too prohibitive to do anything other than keep him. But also, even with the weirdness, he was very clearly the best corner on the team last season. Stay.

Stay or go: Darius Slay

James Bradberry

Bradberry was awesome in 2022. According to PFF, opposing quarterbacks completed just 40 of 87 targets (46.0%) against him for 429 yards (4.9 yards per target), 2 TDs, and 3 INTs, for a combined passer rating of just 54.2. He finished with 3 INTs and 17 pass breakups, and earned second-team All-Pro honors. 

Early in 2023 after Avonte Maddox went down, Bradberry unselfishly played in the slot until the coaching staff and front office could find someone who could fill Maddox's role. He would eventually move back outside and for the first third or so of the season he was a decent enough starter, even if he wasn't as good as he was in 2022.

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And then it all fell apart. From Week 7 on, PFF had Bradberry down for 40 completions on 65 targets for 518 yards, 7 TDs, and 1 INT. He was particularly bad in the Eagles' devastating loss to the Seahawks, when he allowed 6 receptions on all 6 targets that came his way, for 112 yards and the game-winning TD. He also tackled poorly down the stretch.

#JimmyVerdict: If the Eagles move on from Bradberry this season, they'll take a dead money hit of $15,238,000. They can push $10,903,000 of that hit into 2025 if they designate Bradberry as a June 1 release, with only $4,335,000 in dead money on the 2024 cap.

I've heard the sentiment that there's "a zero percent chance the Eagles cut Bradberry because his 2024 pay is guaranteed." That's nonsense. Bradberry's base salary in 2024 is only $1,210,000. The team previously converted the bulk of his base salaries in 2024 and 2025 into bonuses, and then spread that money into void years all the way out to 2029. Whether the Eagles and Bradberry part ways this offseason, next offseason, or in 2026 after the final year of his deal, the Eagles are going to have significant dead money on their cap left over regardless.

If you keep Bradberry, you're doing so with the intent to start him. Otherwise, he'd be a 31-year-old backup who doesn't play special teams who costs a young player a roster spot. There are times you just rip off the Band-Aid, take your lumps, and move on. This is one of them. Go.

Stay or go: James Bradberry

Avonte Maddox

Over the last few seasons, 2023 excluded, Maddox has been one of the better slot corners in the NFL. Unfortunately, he has not been able to stay on the field. 

He missed 14 games in 2023 with a torn pectoral muscle, and he missed games at three different junctures during the season in 2022. He also missed three games in 2018, four games in 2019, and six games in 2020. Obviously, he has significant durability issues.

The Eagles tried to replace Maddox with a half dozen different players — James Bradberry, Mario Goodrich, Bradley Roby, Josiah Scott, Sydney Brown, and Eli Ricks. All of those guys even started games in the slot, with the exception of Ricks. A look at the Eagles' slot corner starters, by game:

• Week 1, Patriots: Avonte Maddox
• Week 2, Vikings: Avonte Maddox
• Week 3, Buccaneers: James Bradberry
• Week 4, Commanders: James Bradberry
• Week 5, Rams: Mario Goodrich
• Week 6, Jets: Bradley Roby
• Week 7, Dolphins: Josiah Scott
• Week 8, Commanders: Sydney Brown
• Week 9, Cowboys: Sydney Brown
• Week 11, Chiefs: Bradley Roby
• Week 12, Bills: Bradley Roby
• Week 13, 49ers: Bradley Roby
• Week 14, Cowboys: Bradley Roby
• Week 15, Seahawks: Sydney Brown
• Week 16, Giants: Sydney Brown
• Week 17, Cardinals: Avonte Maddox
• Week 18, Giants: Avonte Maddox
• Wildcard, Buccaneers: Avonte Maddox

Those teams got some big individual performances from receivers who often worked out of the slot:

• Terry McLaurin, Commanders: 8 catches, 86 yards
• Cooper Kupp, Rams: 8 catches, 118 yards
• Garrett Wilson, Jets: 8 catches, 90 yards
• Tyreek Hill, Dolphins: 11 catches, 88 yards, 1 TD (one wide-open TD, dropped)
• Terry McLaurin, Commanders: 5 catches, 63 yards, 1 TD
• CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys: 11 catches, 191 yards
• Stefon Diggs, Bills: 6 catches, 74 yards, 1 TD
• Deebo Samuel, 49ers: 4 catches, 116 yards, 2 TDs
• CeeDee Lamb: 6 catches, 71 yards, 1 TD

(Those guys didn't necessarily work out of the slot exclusively, but they all did at least some notable damage from the slot.)

Slot corners have to communicate with outside corners, safeties, and linebackers, so when you're playing six different guys in there it's difficult to achieve cohesiveness. It's a position where having a durable player is particularly important, in my opinion, especially if you don't have a capable backup.

#JimmyVerdict: Maddox has a base salary of $6,850,000 in 2024, the final year of his deal. There's no way the Eagles are keeping him on the roster at that number. That said, the team loves Maddox, and will likely try to keep him, probably via pay cut. My guess is that Maddox and his representation will understand that a pay cut could be better than losing the $6.85 million entirely and they'll work with the Eagles on a more reasonable number. Stay.

Stay or go: Avonte Maddox

Kelee Ringo

The Eagles traded a 2024 third-round pick for the third pick in the fourth round of the 2023 draft to select Ringo, which was largely hailed as a steal.

Through the first 12 games of the season, Ringo played 1 snap in the regular defense, despite the team suffering a long list of injuries in the defensive backfield. (We'll soon have an article about the Eagles' odd aversion to playing young players.)

He eventually got playing time in the final six games of the season. We'll have a comprehensive look at Ringo's rookie season later this offseason, but my initial takeaways from his play as a rookie were that he is a physical tackler, and he was mostly fine in coverage, though the Eagles sort of went out of their way to make his assignments easy.

#JimmyVerdict: Ringo will have a chance to compete for a starting job in 2024, assuming they move on from Bradberry. Stay.

Stay or go: Kelee Ringo

Eli Ricks

Ricks made the team as an undrafted rookie free agent, and he got playing time in the slot out of necessity early in the season. He had some nice moments in the Eagles' win over Tyreek Hill and the Dolphins, but he also had a brutally bad game against the 49ers when he only played 5 snaps, and managed to give up 3 completions on 3 targets for 44 yards and a TD. 

#JimmyVerdict: Ricks will be back in camp and will have a decent chance of making the roster again.

Stay or go: Eli Ricks

Bradley Roby

The Eagles signed Roby after Maddox went down, and he was one of the worst tacklers I've ever seen wear an Eagles uniform. This was an underrated lowlight of the season: 

#JimmyVerdict: Go.

Stay or go: Bradley Roby

Josh Jobe

Jobe has become a good special teamer, but he really struggled in coverage during a four-game stretch early in the season against the Vikings, Bucs, Commanders, and Jets, so much so that the Eagles stopped giving him playing time in the regular defense when guys got hurt.

#JimmyVerdict: Jobe's special teams contributions should be enough for him to make the team again in 2024, with the hope that he can continue to develop at corner. Stay. 

Stay or go: Josh Jobe

Zech McPhearson

McPhearson's outlook heading into 2023 looked similar to what it looked like in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, he was the first outside cornerback off the bench, but Slay and Steven Nelson started every game (the meaningless Week 18 game vs. Dallas aside), and we only got some clues as to what McPhearson might look like in the regular defense. 

In 2022, once again, the Eagles' starting cornerbacks — this time Slay and Bradberry — started every game. The only game in which McPhearson got meaningful playing time in a non-blowout was against the Jaguars Week 4 after Slay got hurt in the first quarter.

In 2023 training camp, the Eagles started giving McPhearson some looks in the slot in addition to the outside, and there would have ample opportunities for him to play... but... he tore an Achilles during the preseason. D'oh!

#JimmyVerdict: McPhearson is in the final year of his rookie contract, and he'll be back in camp, with no assurances of a roster spot.

Stay or go: Zech McPherson

#JimmyVerdict Stay or Go Results

Green = Stay

Red = Go

Blue = Will be back in camp in 2024, but a 53-man roster spot is not a given.

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