By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
With free agency set to begin at noon today, the Philadelphia Eagles made sure one of their top defensive players wasn't going to have the opportunity to sign elsewhere. According to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, the team and Bradham have agreed to a long-term deal, likely keeping him in Philadelphia for the foreseeable future. The signing could potentially spell the end of Mychal Kendricks' time with the Eagles.
Eagles' LB Nigel Bradham is signing a 5-year, $40 million deal, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 14, 2018
The #Eagles keep one of their own, and now they are expected to shop LB Mychal Kendricks, who has a 7.6M cap hit. https://t.co/Q7rG9LhcMi
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 14, 2018
Bradham, 28, played in 15 games this season for the Eagles, tallying 61 tackles, one sack and five tackles for loss. He also forced a fumble and scored a defensive touchdown. He had a sack to go along with 11 tackles in the postseason. Bradham stepped in for the injured Jordan Hicks last season and quickly became a leader on defense, calling the plays and stabilizing the middle of the field.
In 2017, Bradham only allowed 0.62 yards per coverage snap and 13.6 coverage snaps per reception. He ranked first in the NFL among all 4-3 outside linebackers in those categories, per Pro Football Reference.
Now that Bradham will be back, there's a pretty good chance the team looks to trade Mychal Kendricks, who is not a stranger to being on the trade block. After being on the market for the entirety of last offseason, he ended up staying in Philly, starting 13 games and winning a Super Bowl championship. Trading Kendricks would save the Eagles $4.4 million in cap space and it'd go up to $6 million if they designated him a post June 1 cut. He has a $7.6 million cap hit for 2018. Kendricks totaled 63 tackles between the regular season and the playoffs.
