Carolina Panthers: James Bradberry facing pivotal contract year
By Jake Wexler
Carolina Panthers cornerback James Bradberry enters the final year of his rookie contract this season.
After being selected by the Carolina Panthers in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, James Bradberry was asked to step in for the recently departed All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman. The Samford alum had a solid rookie season considering the circumstances, giving the Panthers a lot of hope for the future. Since his rookie season, Bradberry has been pretty good. Just not great.
That isn’t to take away the difficulty factor of being a number one cornerback in the NFC South. Holding his own against two former MVP quarterbacks and some of the best receivers in football (Michael Thomas, Mike Evans and Julio Jones have made up almost 40-percent of Bradberry’s career game matchups) is nothing to scoff at. Carolina’s abysmally absent pass rush did the secondary no favors in 2018 to boot. All being said, in a year where Bradberry will look to prove his financial worth to the team that drafted him, he will need to take a step forward toward being a legitimate number one corner.
Bradberry’s situation is similar in ways to that of wide receiver Devin Funchess this past season. Heading into his final contract year with questions as to whether he will be able to prove his worth as a franchise cornerstone at his position. Funchess failed, and since Carolina was able to create an insurance policy by drafting wideout D.J. Moore, he was much more expendable. Although I think Bradberry has been more successful and consistent at his position than Funchess ever was, the soft-spoken cornerback finds himself in a situation where he may be expendable if he doesn’t establish strong value this season.
In 2018, the Panthers opted to take electric cornerback Donte Jackson with their second round pick. Jackson’s presence was felt from day one on a defense sorely lacking in attitude and speed, where he proved his potential to be a legitimate starting cornerback in the NFL. This is where the same potential expendability comes in to play, especially if the Panthers don’t find Bradberry to be worth his price tag.