Buffalo Bills: What the team could do with no salary cap restrictions

Nigel Bradham – Linebacker

28-years old (2012 fourth-round pick/105th overall – Buffalo Bills)

2017 Stats (Philadelphia Eagles): 15 games played/15 games started – 87 total tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery

Contract: 4-years, $41 million ($10.25 million/year)

Come home, Nigel.

Nigel Bradham played for the Buffalo Bills for the first four seasons of his career, starting 38 of the 57 games he played. He really came on strong his final two seasons with the team, starting all 25 games in which he played, recording 164 total tackles with 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He was exactly the type of player that his defense currently needs.

Bradham then signed a two-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles on 2016 and has started each of the 31 games he has played in. He has 186 total tackles in the two seasons and has become one of the most versatile outside linebackers in the NFL.

His combination of size (6-foot-2, 241 pounds) and speed makes him a sure tackler and solid in coverage. One of the biggest issues with the current defense for the Bills is a lack of sideline-to-sideline speed. Bradham has that.

Preston Brown has been a very good player for the Bills in his tenure, and Lorenzo Alexander has done a very admirable job for the team but is old. Bradham could play the outside or inside and give the team some speed and size if Brown leaves or play outside if Alexander’s play begins to dip.

Next: Where the roster can be improved this offseason

At 28-years old, Bradham still has plenty of quality football left. A four-year deal gets the team out of the deal before he hits his decline, and $10.25 million per year is enough to entice him away from the Eagles and makes him one of the highest paid linebackers in the NFL.