Nigel Bradham

Nigel Bradham (born September 4, 1989) is a former American football linebacker.

He played college football at Florida State University.

Considered a five-star recruit and the ranked first among outside linebacker prospects by Rivals.com, Bradham had numerous scholarship offers but decided to attend Florida State early in April 2007.

He was a finalist for the Hall Trophy and recorded four tackles in the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

He was the highest rated prospect of the Seminoles' 2008 recruiting class.

As a true freshman in 2008, Bradham was in the linebacker rotation from opening day and played in each of the Seminoles' 13 games during the regular season, mostly at weakside linebacker.

He made his first career start in the Seminoles' victory over the University of Miami.

Bradham finished the season as fourth-leading tackler among the Seminoles' linebackers and Florida State's leading true freshmen tackler with 29 stops.

In his sophomore year, Bradham had 12 starts and led the Seminoles with 93 tackles (62 unassisted).

He also recorded 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception and finished second on the team with two fumble recoveries.

Bradham earned honorable mention Sophomore All-American honors from College Football News.

Starting all 14 games at weakside linebacker, Bradham led the Seminoles in tackling for a second consecutive season, totalling 98 tackles (54 solos), including 5.5 tackles for loss.

He also added five sacks, which ranked third on FSU's nation-leading sack unit behind Brandon Jenkins and Markus White, as well as a single-season high five passes defended, to go along with a forced fumble.

Bradham recorded a season-high of ten tackles twice, against Boston College and North Carolina, with six solo stops in each game.

As a senior, Bradham was named team captain.

He registered 86 tackles, which led the Seminoles for the third consecutive season, and earned All-ACC honorable mention.

FSU ranked as the No. 4 defense nationally.

Bradham finished his career with 39 starts, including his last 37 games.

He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2016 to 2019.

At Wakulla High School, Bradham had consecutive 145-tackle seasons, including a senior campaign in which he also registered 12 sacks and four defensive touchdowns in leading Wakulla to a district championship and a first-round playoff berth, where they lost 13–8 to Panama City Beach Arnold.

As a junior, he tallied 145 tackles, eight sacks, and four interceptions, two of which he returned for TDs.

Bradham recorded over 430 tackles and 20 sacks during his four-year career on the varsity football team at Wakulla.

Bradham was named to All-American teams by Parade, SuperPrep, and USA Today, among others.

The Buffalo Bills selected Bradham in the fourth round (105th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Bradham was the 12th linebacker drafted in 2012.

On May 10, 2012, the Buffalo Bills signed Bradham to a four-year, $2.56 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $462,551.

Bradham began training camp competing for a roster spot as a linebacker against Arthur Moats, Chris White, Tank Carder, Bryan Scott, and Danny Batten.

He performed well enough during camp to earn an opportunity to compete against Arthur Moats for the job as the starting strongside linebacker.

Head coach Chan Gailey named Bradham the backup strongside linebacker to begin the regular season, behind Arthur Moats.

He made his professional regular season debut in the Buffalo Bills' season-opening 48–28 loss at the New York Jets.

The following week, he collected three combined tackles in the Bills' 35–17 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2.

Bradham made his first career tackle on Javier Arenas during Arenas' 23-yard punt return in the third quarter.

In Week 6, Bradham earned his first career start after he surpassed Arthur Moats on the depth chart and became the starting strongside linebacker.

He finished the Bills' 19–16 victory at the Arizona Cardinals with three combined tackles.

On December 30, 2012, Bradham recorded a season-high 11 combined tackles (five solo) during a 28–9 victory against the New York Jets in Week 17.

On December 31, 2012, it was announced that the Buffalo Bills decided to fire head coach Chan Gailey after they did not qualify for the playoffs and finished with a 6-10 record.

Bradham finished his rookie season in 2012 with 57 combined tackles (37 solo) and a pass deflection in 16 games and 11 starts.

Throughout training camp, Bradham competed to be the starting middle linebacker after Kelvin Sheppard was traded to the Indianapolis Colts.

He competed against rookie Kiko Alonso, Arthur Moats, and Bryan Scott.

Head coach Doug Marrone named Bradham the backup outside linebacker to start the regular season, behind starters Arthur Moats and Manny Lawson.