Bradham Has Broken Thumb

PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) - The banged-up Eagles defense is dealing with another injury as linebacker Nigel Bradham confirmed that he broke his left thumb early in the Eagles' 25-22 win over the New York Giants last Sunday.

The veteran underwent surgery on Monday to have a plate and six pins put in to stabilize what was a break in three places.

Bradham injured the thumb on the third play of the game against New York, making a tackle on tight end Rhett Ellison, who had just converted a 3rd-and-9 play. Despite that Bradham finished the game, playing in all 62 defensive snaps and recording six tackles.

“I just felt like it was something I could keep playing with,” Bradham said.

"I'll just say this Niel Bradham is as tough as they come," linebackers coach Ken Flajole added Wednesday. “One thing about Nigel is, you guys have probably seen him for the last three years, he’s a pretty tough nut. He's pretty competitive and he didn’t want to come out of the ball game. He continued to play even though I’m sure there was tremendous discomfort with [the injury]."

The plan is for Bradham to keep playing, likely with a club on his left hand although that has yet to be decided. Fellow linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill is also playing through a broken thumb while linebacker Jordan Hicks is currently sidelined with a calf injury.

“It gets tough, particularly on tackles, it’s hard to grab cloth and wrap up,” Flajole said of playing with protection. “You guys probably saw in the Dallas game, Kamu had a chance for an interception. I would have thought, maybe, if he had two good hands and not one cast, that he would have made that play. ... I’ve seen a lot of people play with them and they’ve played well, but there’s certainly limitation as far as grabbing.”

Hicks, meanwhile, told 973espn.com that he was feeling good Wednesday but the starting middle linebacker is unlikely to play on Monday night against Washington.

Nate Gerry replaced Hicks in the starting lineup with the base defense against the Giants with Bradham and a combination of KGH, Gerry and Malcolm Jenkins serving as the nickel linebackers.

-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen