Carolina Panthers The
Carolina Panthers selected Bradberry in the second round (62nd overall) of the
2016 NFL draft. He was the tenth cornerback selected in 2016. He was the first of three cornerbacks drafted by the Panthers in 2016, in a trio that included third-round pick (77th overall)
Daryl Worley and fifth-round pick (141st overall)
Zack Sanchez. He became only the seventh player to be drafted from Samford since 1967 and was the fourth out of the last five drafts
(2012–2016). Other Samford alumni drafted include
Jaquiski Tartt (2015) and
Cortland Finnegan (2006).
2016 On May 10, 2016, the Carolina Panthers signed Bradberry to a four–year, 3.96 million rookie contract that included $1.70 million guaranteed and an initial
signing bonus of $1.08 million. During training camp, Bradberry competed against
Robert McClain, Sanchez,
Leonard Johnson, and
Daryl Worley for a job as a starting cornerback following the release of
Josh Norman. Head coach
Ron Rivera named Bradberry and veteran
Bené Benwikere as the starting cornerbacks to start the regular season. On September 8, Bradberry made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Carolina Panthers' season-opener at the
Denver Broncos and made six combined
tackles (five solo) and a pass deflection in a 21–20 loss. He made his first career tackle on running back
C. J. Anderson during the first drive of the game. On September 18, Bradberry made two solo tackles, two
pass deflections, and made his first career
interception off a pass by quarterback
Blaine Gabbert to wide receiver
Torrey Smith during a 46–27 victory against the
San Francisco 49ers in Week 2. On October 2, he made two solo tackles before exiting the Panthers' 48–33 loss at the
Atlanta Falcons in the second quarter with an injury. Bené Benwikere and rookie
Daryl Worley gave up over 300 receiving yards to
Julio Jones in Bradberry's absence. On October 7, the Carolina Panthers released starting cornerback Benwikere in response to the secondary's embarrassing performance, subsequently making Bradberry the No. 1 starting cornerback alongside fellow rookie
Daryl Worley. He was inactive for the next three games (Weeks 5–8) due to a severe case of
turf toe he sustained during the loss to the Falcons. In Week 13, Bradberry collected a season-high eight combined tackles (seven solo) and broke up a pass during a 40–7 loss to the
Seattle Seahawks. On January 1, 2017, Bradberry made six solo tackles, a season-high two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by
Jameis Winston to
Adam Humphries during a 17–16 loss at the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He finished his rookie season with 59 combined tackles (47 solo), ten pass deflections, and two interceptions in 13 games and 13 starts. Bradberry graded out as the top ranked rookie cornerback and the Panthers' top defensive back by PFF.
2017 During the off-season, head coach Ron Riveira promoted secondaries coach
Steve Wilks to defensive coordinator after
Sean McDermott accepted the head coaching position with the
Buffalo Bills. On June 5, 2017, Bradberry suffered a fractured wrist during
organized team activities and was ruled out for a least a month. Head coach Ron Rivera named Bradberry and Worley the starting cornerbacks and
Captain Munnerlyn as the starting nickelback. On October 12, Bradberry recorded six combined tackles (four solo), broke up a pass, and made his first career
sacks on quarterback
Carson Wentz during a 28–23 loss to the
Philadelphia Eagles. In Week 14, he made six combined tackles (five solo), a season-high three pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by
Case Keenum in the Panthers' 31–24 victory over the
Minnesota Vikings. The following week, Bradberry recorded a season-high seven combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by
Aaron Rodgers during a 31–24 victory against the
Green Bay Packers. He finished the season with 85 combined tackles (66 solo), ten pass deflections, two interceptions, and a sack in 16 games and 16 starts. The Carolina Panthers finished the
2017 NFL season second in the
National Football Conference (NFC) South with an 11–5 record and received a Wild Card berth. On January 7, 2018, Bradberry started in his first career playoff game and recorded eight combined tackles (seven solo) as the Panthers lost 31–26 at the
New Orleans Saints in the NFC
Wild Card Round.
2018 On January 23, 2018, Panthers' head coach Ron Rivera promoted defensive line coach
Eric Washington to defensive coordinator after
Steve Wilks departed to accept the head coaching position with the
Arizona Cardinals. He became the third defensive coordinator Bradberry played under in as many seasons. During training camp, Bradberry competed for the role as a starting cornerback against Donte Jackson, Captain Munnerlyn,
Ross Cockrell,
Corn Elder, and
Kevon Seymour. He was named the No. 1 starting cornerback to begin the regular season and was paired with rookie
Donte Jackson. On October 7, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles (seven solo) and broke up two passes as the Panthers defeated the
New York Giants 33–31. In Week 12, Bradberry made three combined tackles (two solo), broke up a pass, and made the first sack of his career on quarterback
Russell Wilson for a nine-yard loss during a 30–27 loss to the
Seattle Seahawks. On December 17, 2018, Bradberry recorded three combined tackles (two solo), made a pass deflection, and had his only interception of the season on a pass attempt thrown by
Drew Brees to tight end
Dan Arnold during a 9–12 loss to the
New Orleans Saints. The following week, he had one tackle and a season-high four pass deflections during a 10–24 loss against the
Atlanta Falcons in Week 16. He started all 16 games during the
2018 NFL season and finished with a total of 70 combined tackles (57 solo), a sack, an interception, and a team-leading 15 pass deflections.
2019 Bradberry entered training camp slated as Carolina's No. 1 starting cornerback. Head coach Ron Rivera retained Bradberry and Donte Jackson as the starting cornerbacks for the second consecutive season. in 2019. On September 8, 2019, Bradberry started in the Carolina Panthers' home-opener against the
Los Angeles Rams and made four combined tackles (two solo), one sack, and also intercepted a pass by
Jared Goff to wide receiver
Robert Woods during a 27–30 loss. On October 13, Bradberry had one of the best performances of his career as he collected a season-high 11 solo tackles, a season-high four pass deflections, and made a career-high two interceptions off passes thrown by
Jameis Winston during a 37–26 win at the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6. He was inactive for the Panthers' 16-24 loss at the
Green Bay Packers in Week 9 due to an injury to his groin. His injury ended a streak of 49 consecutive starts in-a-row. On December 3, the Panthers fired head coach
Ron Rivera after they fell to a 5–7 record. Defensive line coach
Perry Fewell was appointed to interim head coach for the last four games of the season. He finished the
2019 NFL season with a total of 65 combined tackles (51 solo), 12 passes defended, three interceptions, and a sack in 15 games and 15 starts.
New York Giants 2020 On March 16, 2020, the
New York Giants signed Bradberry to a three–year, $43.50 million contract that includes $31.98 million guaranteed and $29.80 million guaranteed upon signing. In Week 2, Bradberry made three solo tackles, a season-high four pass deflections, and had his first interception with the Giants on a pass thrown by
Mitchell Trubisky to wide receiver
Allen Robinson during a 17–13 loss at the
Chicago Bears. In Week 14, he collected a season-high seven solo tackles and made one pass deflection during a 7–26 loss to the
Arizona Cardinals. On December 17, the Panthers placed him on the reserve/
COVID-19 list. On December 21, he was cleared to be activated from the COVID-19/reserve list and was added to the active roster after missing a Week 15 loss to the
Cleveland Browns. He finished the
2020 NFL season with 54 combined tackles (44 solo), 18 passes defended, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery in 15 games and 15 starts. He earned his first Pro Bowl and was invited to play in the
2021 Pro Bowl. He was ranked 74th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2021.
2021 During the offseason Bradberry restructured his contract in order to give the team some cap room. He began training camp as the
de facto starting cornerback under defensive coordinator
Patrick Graham. Head coach Joe Judge named Bradberry the No. 1 starting cornerback to begin the season and paired him with
Adoree' Jackson. On September 16, 2021, Bradberry collected a season-high seven combined tackles (six solo), made one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass thrown by
Taylor Heinicke to wide receiver
Terry McLaurin during a 29–30 loss at the
Washington Football Team. On October 2, it was reported that Bradberry once again agreed to restructure his contract in order to increase cap room for the Giants.
2022 New York Giants' General manager
David Gettleman retired after the 2021 NFL season. Gettleman was responsible for the
Carolina Panthers drafting Bradberry when he was their General manager and was also responsible for signing him as an unrestricted free agent as the General manager of the
New York Giants. On May 9, 2022, the New York Giants released Bradberry after they were unable to find a trade partner.
Philadelphia Eagles 2022 On May 18, 2022, the
Philadelphia Eagles signed Bradberry to a fully guaranteed one–year, $7.25 million contract that includes an initial signing bonus of $6.21 million. On September 11, Bradberry made his debut with the Philadelphia Eagles in their season-opener at the
Detroit Lions and made two combined tackles (one solo), one pass deflection, and returned an interception thrown by
Jared Goff intended for tight end
T. J. Hockenson 27–yards for the first touchdown of his career during a 38–35 victory. In Week 3, he collected a season-high five combined tackles (four solo) and made one pass deflection during the Eagles 24–8 victory at the
Washington Commanders. In Week 6, Bradberry recorded three solo tackles and set a season-high with four pass deflections as the Eagles defeated the
Dallas Cowboys 26–17. He started in all 17 games and finished with 44 combined tackles, 17 passes defended, three interceptions, and one touchdown. The Philadelphia Eagles finished the
2022 NFL season a top the
NFC East with a 14–3 record to clinch a first-round bye. On January 21, 2023, Bradberry had two solo tackles, two pass deflections, and had an interception off a pass thrown by
Daniel Jones to wide receiver
Darius Slayton as the Eagles routed the
New York Giants 38–7 in the Divisional Round. The following week, the Eagles defeated the
San Francisco 49ers 31–7 during the NFC Championship Game and advanced to the
Super Bowl. On February 12, Bradberry started in
Super Bowl LVII and recorded five combined tackles (four solo) during a 38–35 loss to the
Kansas City Chiefs. Just after the two-minute warning near the end of the game, Bradberry was called for a controversial holding penalty on
JuJu Smith-Schuster as the Chiefs were on the Eagles' 15-yard line. The penalty proved costly as it gave Kansas City a new set of downs and allowed them to run the clock down to 11 seconds before
Harrison Butker successfully made the game-winning field goal. After the game, Bradberry admitted that the holding call was correct saying, "It was a holding. I tugged his jersey. I was hoping they would let it slide."
2023 On March 15, 2023, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Bradberry to a three–year, $38.00 million contract extension with $20.00 million guaranteed and an initial signing bonus of $6.98 million.
2024 Bradberry suffered a leg injury in practice before the 2024 season and was placed on injured reserve on August 29, 2024. Bradberry later revealed after the season ended that the injury he suffered was a torn
Achilles and
Soleus muscle. However, Bradberry would become a Super Bowl champion after the Eagles defeated the
Kansas City Chiefs in
Super Bowl LIX, 40–22, avenging their loss two years prior.
2025 On March 12, 2025, the
Philadelphia Eagles released Bradberry with a post-June 1 designation. ==NFL career statistics==