Eagles special teams mainstay suffers Achilles injury vs. Ravens

Eagles special teams mainstay suffers Achilles injury vs. Ravens originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Eagles linebacker and special teams ace Shaun Bradley suffered an Achilles injury on Saturday night, NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark reported.

Bradley was carted off the field in the third quarter of the team’s preseason opener against the Ravens and will miss the 2023 season.

Bradley, 26, was ruled out with what the Eagles called a "lower leg injury." Bradley was clearly in pain as he waited for the cart. As he boarded the cart, Bradley wasn’t able to put any weight on his right leg and needed help from trainers.

Head coach Nick Sirianni was on the field pretty quickly as Bradley grimaced in pain. And every Eagles player eventually made their way out to wish Bradley well before he was carted off the field.

The Eagles used a sixth-round pick on Bradley out of Temple back in 2020 and he has been a major special teams contributor during his three seasons with the Eagles. In three seasons, he has played in 45 games, mostly as a special teamer.

While Bradley hasn’t played much on defense, he has played a ton on special teams in his career.

Here’s a look at his special teams play time since entering the NFL:

2020: 284 snaps (68%)
2021: 280 snaps (71%)
2022: 314 snaps (80%)

Bradley wasn’t a lock to make the roster before this injury as he has been in a crowded linebackers room where a bunch of players are jockeying for roles. But he was likely going to make it because of his ability on special teams.

This is the final year of Bradley’s four-year rookie contract.

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