Eagles Linebacker Nigel Bradham Says He 'Just Forgot' About Loaded Gun in Backpack

Nigel Bradham was arrested at Miami International Airport for having a loaded gun.

Eric Hartline
USA Today Sports

Image via USA Today Sports

Eric Hartline

Philadelphia linebacker Nigel Bradham was arrested Sunday at Miami International Airport during the Eagles' bye week for having a loaded gun in his $1,700 Louis Vuitton backpack. Wednesday, Bradham told the media he "just forgot" about the gun.

"How does it happen? Just forgot," Bradham said. "It's as simple as that."

Bradham, 27, is in his fifth NFL season. He said he never opens the compartment of the backpack that the gun was in, and he had not used the backpack in a while.

"It wasn't cocked and loaded. It was loaded, as far as bullets-wise," Bradham said.

Bradham didn’t totally avoid blame, though; he did express some remorse for the mistake.

"You never want to be a distraction," Bradham said. "Obviously, that's what happened… Right now, we've got a lot of positive things to talk about. We're 3-0, coming off the bye week."

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said it was a dumb mistake, but he didn't seem overly concerned about it.

"I don't know why anybody would do that,” Pederson said. “I don't know all the circumstances around it... It's a big deal, to do that. Obviously, he has it registered, and, from that standpoint—listen, I have rifles, and I like to hunt, but we just have to be smart."

This wasn’t Bradham’s first run-in with the law. He was accused of punching a 50-year-old hotel employee in July, and was charged with aggravated felony battery. In 2013, when he played for the Buffalo Bills, Bradham was ticketed for unlawful possession of marijuana.

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