Around 4 p.m., the Eagles announced they were officially cutting ties with Nnamdi Asomugha. And about four hours later, they added a new starting cornerback in 26-year-old Bradley Fletcher.
Fletcher (6-0, 200) has 26 career starts under his belt and has appeared in 43 games with the Rams since being selected in the third round out of Iowa back in 2009.
Considered an outside press corner with good size, Fletcher saw significant action in the Rams’ first nine games last season, but then reportedly fell out of favor with Jeff Fisher and the coaching staff, following a performance against the Patriots in which he was called for three pass interference penalties. Fletcher played just 20 snaps in the final seven games, according to Pro Football Focus.
Overall, his charting numbers were good. Fletcher allowed just 16 completions on 34 targets (47.1 percent) for 138 yards, per PFF. He didn’t allow a completion of more than 19 yards, gave up one touchdown and had an interception. The issue, again, was the penalties. Fletcher had five pass interference penalties in nine games, which at the time, was tied for the league lead.
The Rams had invested draft picks in Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson, and decided to play them instead of Fletcher the rest of the way.
Injuries have also been an issue for Fletcher. In two of his first three years, Fletcher suffered season-ending knee injuries. He tore the ACL in his right knee in 2011 and only played in four games. As a rookie, Fletcher tore a pair of ligaments in his right knee and only appeared in seven games.
Fletcher has started more than four games in a season just once. That was in 2010 when he started 15. And one good note that this audience will appreciate: He has only missed six tackles in his career, per PFF.
In the coming days, we’ll take a look at Fletcher’s performance from last year and publish an All-22 breakdown.
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