PHILADELPHIA -- The James Bradberry experiment at safety never got going during the first day of Philadelphia Eagles mandatory minicamp. During the individual portion of Eagles mandatory minicamp Tuesday, Bradberry fell while backpedaling in quick feet drills. He walked off the practice field with a trainer and was on the sideline for 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills. He had his helmet off during that portion of practice.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni mentioned in his pre-practice press conference that Bradberry was taking reps at safety, this being part of an uncertain future with the organization that stems from his contract and how the team put a heavy stock at cornerback in the draft with Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean being the first two picks.
"He was able to do a couple different things last year," Sirianni said. "He played the majority of his career at corner, and will be working into some of the safety stuff which you'll see today. So I'm excited about that and this opportunity."
On the first day of mandatory minicamp at least, the opportunity never came for Bradberry to play safety. The Eagles had Reed Blankenship and C.J. Gardner-Johnson as the first-team safeties on Day 1 of mandatory minicamp. Where Bradberry fit on the depth chart at cornerback or safety is unknown.
Kelee Ringo lined up as the first-team outside cornerback, opposite of Darius Slay. Mitchell and Isaiah Rodgers were the second team cornerbacks. Avonte Maddox and Tyler Hall were the first-team slot cornerbacks in the slot and DeJean was on second team.
Sirianni has hopes Bradberry can transfer from being an elite corner to an elite safety. The Eagles are trying to find ways to get the most out of Bradberry, even if his future with the team remains a mystery.
"The first guy that comes to mind is Charles Woodson," Sirianni said. "He went from [being an] elite corner, to being an elite nickel, to being an elite safety. So I'm excited about that for James that he's able to do more."
