Eagles LB Nigel Bradham suspended one game for two-year-old incident

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer
0

The NFL apparently doesn’t believe much in the right to a speedy trial.

Earlier this week the league announced it was suspending Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston over an incident in March of 2016 in which he allegedly groped an Uber driver. On late Friday afternoon (news dump!), ESPN’s Field Yates reported that Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham, who signed a five-year, $40 million extension this offseason, had been suspended for the team’s regular-season opener.

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The suspension seemed to come out of the blue because Bradham hasn’t been in trouble lately, but NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero said it goes back to an incident in Miami two years ago.

What was Bradham suspended for?

In January, ESPN’s Tim McManus reported that a battery case involving Bradham had been closed. In July of 2016 he was accused of punching a South Beach hotel employee after an argument and breaking his nose, ESPN said.

Bradham accepted a deferred prosecution program last July. Bradham could avoid jail time if the conditions of the program were met, and since the case was closed in January, it seems Bradham met those conditions.

However, the NFL doesn’t forget. Pelissero said that incident in South Beach was the reason for the suspension, and Bradham confirmed that with a Twitter apology (which curiously didn’t include the hotel employee he was accused of punching).

Eagles could be down a couple key players in Week 1

While Bradham isn’t the same level player as Winston, his suspension is a pretty big one. Bradham is a multi-talented linebacker who became one of the impact defenders for an Eagles Super Bowl championship team. He had 88 tackles last season.

Bradham’s suspension isn’t the only absence the Eagles could be dealing with in Week 1, when the Atlanta Falcons come to Philly. Quarterback Carson Wentz’s recovery from ACL surgery seems to be coming along well, but he’s not yet a lock to play the season opener.

Unless there’s an unforeseen appeal win coming, the Eagles will definitely be without one of their best defensive players in Week 1, thanks to the NFL this week clearing the books of all outstanding incidents that happened in 2016.

Philadelphia Eagles outside linebacker Nigel Bradham has been suspended for the season opener. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles outside linebacker Nigel Bradham has been suspended for the season opener. (AP)

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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