Jones, Slayton eager to face Eagles’ Bradberry
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Daniel Jones and Darius Slayton are looking forward to seeing former Giants teammate James Bradberry and to the challenge of going against one of the NFL’S top cornerbacks when New York faces the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
The three players spent the previous two years on the Giants under thencoach Joe Judge and went against each other in practice hundreds and possibly thousands of times.
Bradberry knows Jones’ throwing habits as a quarterback and Slayton’s moves as a receiver. They know his tendencies as a defensive back.
“It goes both ways,” Jones said of the challenge, which will feature the Nfl-leading Eagles (11-1) against the slipping Giants (7-4-1). “I think we both understand each other’s skillsets and that’ll be part of the game.”
Some Giants fans were troubled when Bradberry was released this spring. He was an outstanding cornerback but his nearly $22 million salary-cap hit was too much for a team needing a lot of help this season.
General manager Dave Gettleman and Judge were fired after a 4-13 season in 2021 and GM Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll were hired away from Buffalo.
Bradberry signed with the Eagles and he has given them one of the NFL’S top cornerback tandems with Darius Slay. Philadelphia has the league’s top-ranked passing defense, allowing an average of 178.5 yards.
While he has not spoken to Bradberry in months, Slayton says he remains a good friend.
“It was sad to see him go,” Slayton said. “Brad is a good guy, a good football player. But we understand the business part of it. At the end of the day when you have a new coach and a new GM, there is going to be some turnover.”
Bradberry is playing well with the Eagles. He has 30 tackles, 14 passes defensed — one behind NFL leader Sauce Gardner of the Jets — and three interceptions, the same number as Slay.
Slayton, who was drafted in 2019 along with Jones, has emerged as the Giants’ top receiver in a year marked by injuries and disappointments at the position.