Nigel Bradham Broke Thumb in Three Places During Giants Game

By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

Over half of the Eagles original 53-man roster has missed time with or played through injuries this season. They added another name to that list last weekend: linebacker Nigel Bradham.

Dave Zangaro if NBC Sports Philly reported on Wednesday that the linebacker had broken his thumb on the third play of the Giants game last Sunday.

Nigel Bradham had surgery on Monday. He got a plate and six pins put in his thumb. He said the injury happened on the third play Sunday but he played through it. #Eagles

— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) November 28, 2018

Bradham knew that the defense was short handed with all the injuries. Sure, Malcolm Jenkins can play linebacker well for the Birds, but with Corey Graham going down in the Giants game and the already thin cornerback room, the team would essentially be without any backups. LaRoy Reynolds has played only a few snaps on defense as he and DJ Alexander are on the team specifically for special teams play.

Due to the injury situation, Bradham decided to remain in the game for every defensive snap. Jordan Hicks was the only Eagle to play every snap on defense prior to his injury in the Saints game and Bradham thought he needed to provide that consistency in his stead. The result: Bradham played 59 defensive snaps with that thumb broken in three places. He registered six tackles in the contest.

Bradham and fellow linebacker Jordan Hicks have been getting quite a bit of flak from fans recently for not forcing more turnovers, but the pair have been arguably the most consistent tandem on the team. The tandem has combined for 148 tackles, five sacks, six passes defensed and two fumble recoveries. It is difficult to get interceptions when quarterbacks are not consistently pressured and have all the time in the world to throw and if runners are regularly getting by the first set of tacklers, the linebackers are going to focus on making the tackle rather than stripping the ball. Bradham is currently third on the team in tackles with 63.

Bradham played hard for this city and played through/will continue to play through the pain in order to insure that his team has the best opportunity to win.

He hopes to play against the Redskins on Monday, but he currently has a cast on his left arm and the training staff have yet to officially clear him to play. The Eagles may look to add an extra linebacker, especially if the Eagles do not anticipate Jordan Hicks back. Hicks returning this week seems unlikely based off of Doug Pederson’s comments at his press conference Monday. Kamu Grugier-Hill and Nathan Gerry will be atop the depth chart if Bradham is not cleared.