Cornerback James Bradberry is set for free agency this season. And with his past play with the Carolina Panthers, he should be a pretty hot commodity.

Bradberry was drafted in the second round (62nd overall) by the Panthers back in 2016. In the four years since then, he has established himself as a top-tier defensive back.

Now he’s a free agent though. And he clearly is ready to get paid.

Bradberry has the heightened advantage of being arguably the best cornerback in this free agent class. He has extremely tough competition with Byron Jones, but both should be able to command pretty hefty contracts.

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It also helps the cornerback that he’s already being hunted. The Washington Redskins, for example, have already hinted pretty heavily that they will be pursuing Bradberry this offseason.

There is an obvious argument that Bradberry and Jones should not get paid more than certain corners. Players like Stephon Gilmore and Jalen Ramsey come to mind.

However, that’s not how the market works. Those two will likely be the top paid when they get new contracts, but they won’t get to continuously set the markets.

The truth is Bradberry and Jones are the free agents now, which means they get to try and set the market. They get to try and explain why they deserve the most money, and how Gilmore and Ramsey’s old contracts set years ago should not determine anything for them.

It’s unclear as of right now if the Panthers expect to be in on the cornerback. If they are though, it looks like Bradberry isn’t going to be giving them any type of “hometown discount”. He’s ready to get that first big contract of his career.