Sam Bradford was the number one overall pick of the 2010 draft. Nick Foles was a third round pick in 2012. Who would have guessed their paths would cross via trade in the first day of the new NFL year.
Sam Bradford’s career started out on the right track when he won the 2010 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. He hit a bump in 2011 missing six games with injury. Bradford rebounded in 2012 by throwing for 3,700 yards and 21 TD. It appeared he was back on the right track even if he hadn’t reached his potential. In 2013, Bradford looked like he finally found “it” and he was off to the best start of his career but in week seven he tore his ACL. In the 2014 pre-season, Bradford once again tore his ACL.
With two straight ACL injuries, Bradford is a huge question-mark. In 2013, it really looked like he had turned the corner but for his career he stands with just a 18-30-1 mark as a starter.
Nick Foles was drafted by the Eagles and initially lost the starting QB battle with Michael Vick but he ended up seeing action in six games in his rookie season. In 2013, Foles once again was beaten out by Vick but the year ended up being a break-out one for Foles as he went 8-2, completed 64% of his passes and had a 27:2 TD:INT ratio and was selected to the Pro Bowl as an alternate. To start the 2014 season, Foles led the Eagles to a 6-2 record out of the gate but then sustained a broken collar bone that ended his season.
Foles played well in Philadelphia going 14-4 as a starter but Chip Kelly was obviously not a fan and had other plans. Foles now joins St. Louis, who also traded for Case Keenum. This is a big money saver for the Rams as Foles salary for this season is $1.5 million whereas Bradford’s is $13 million. While Foles might not have the pedigree that Bradford has, he has won at a much higher percentage so far in the NFL and has showed as much promise. The move gets the Rams out of Bradford’s contract which gives them flexibility and Foles also provides them with at minimum a solid stop-gap.
.@STLouisRams I'm excited for this new chapter and looking forward to what's ahead in St. Louis. Go Rams!
— Nick Foles (@NickFoles) March 11, 2015
The Bradford trade is a real head-scratcher for Chip Kelly and the Eagles. Bradford is a $13 million cap hit for them….unless he’s cut before June 1st and then he comes completely off the books for the Eagles. Is Chip Kelly going to ride with the oft-injured Sam Bradford behind an offensive line that at times resembled swiss cheese last season and allowed two sacks per game, or is this just a move to free up the QB position for none other than Marcus Mariota? That’s a definitely possibility but the Eagles aren’t slotted to pick until the 20th spot so they would have to do even more wheeling and dealing if they want to sniff Mariota in the draft.
Sports Illustrated’s Peter King is reporting that “Chip Kelly came hard after Bradford”, so that would thwart the idea of Bradford being released. The Eagles also gave up a second round pick in the 2016 draft for Bradford, so to cut him after giving up a QB and a very valuable draft pick would be ludicrous and to use Bradford as just a one-year place-holder would also be a poor decision considering the draft pick given up. There is also a rumor that has surfaced that the Eagles traded for Bradford specifically to flip him to another team to move up in the draft. At this point speculation is running wild and all we can do is wait.
Chip Kelly is referred to as an “evil genius” but at this point he has completely blown up a team that finished 10-6 last season and the world is wondering if Chip Kelly has out-smarted himself.
I know we will all be tuning in a little more closely to the Eagles this off-season and the season to see exactly what becomes of this story. Can we go ahead and draw up the petition to get HBO’s Hard Knocks to follow the Eagles this year?
