Sam Bradford Wants Out of Philly; Crawls Back to Eagles

[8-8 Forever?]

the guy just wants to play the game. philly has moved away from him completely, so he wants out, so he can play the game somewhere. sounds reasonable to me. who wants to sit. guys finally healthy and now he's screwed, sitting behind some rookie.. he should have kept it out of the media, but his fundamental argument stands. he is out in philly, so he wants out. NFL careers are extremely limited in time, so if philly doesn't want him, maybe someone else will give him a shot. all he wants is shot to start, and he no longer has that opportunity in Philly. yeah, a contract is a contract , etc. got it. but his request is not unreasonable. doesn't mean philly will do it, but to ask for it (not thru the media) is not wrong

[machine gun kelly]

There's a big difference here. The wear and tear on bodies and brains in the NFL is a factor. Once you've made a whole lot of money - NINE figures in Bradford's case - things like concussions, CTE and other injuries are big considerations. $100M and walking away healthy might look a lot better than $110M with potential health issues.

Barley, you make good points, but they frame the argument that they are insulted to play at the lower wage. If a person feels it is too much of a risk to his health, then just retire. I don't fault nay guy who retires young like the SF Rookie the other year if he does not want to take that risk. I thought it actually took a lot of courage, and even gave back without argument the bulk of his signing bonus. I understand your point though and appreciate the opinion.

[BarleyNY]

At no point was Bradford looking at walking away from the game. That is BS. He wanted to go to another team that didn't have another QB to challenge him. He's a hypocrite and he should thank every star in the sky and any Gods that he can think of that he was good at college football because his career in the NFL isn't much more impressive than mine.

 

Barley, you make good points, but they frame the argument that they are insulted to play at the lower wage. If a person feels it is too much of a risk to his health, then just retire. I don't fault nay guy who retires young like the SF Rookie the other year if he does not want to take that risk. I thought it actually took a lot of courage, and even gave back without argument the bulk of his signing bonus. I understand your point though and appreciate the opinion.

I want to clear up something because I think we are arguing two different situations. At this point in the conversation I thought we were talking about whether or not he would continue to play AFTER his contract in Philly ends - be that if he is cut after this season, gets traded next offseason or plays through 2017 in Philly. I was not talking about him walking away prior to the 2016 season. He was always going to have to play somewhere in 2016. The only question was where. He tried to force a trade and it didn't work. Sorry for any confusion I created. I didn't meant to frame players who've made a lot of money turning down offers as "insulting", just that they aren't worth it to them - especially players with injury histories. I remember Urlacher talking about turning down a one year, $2M contract and choosing to retire. He was careful to say that $2M was a lot of money, but it just wasn't worth it to him because of health reasons and what he'd already made. That's all. Edited May 12, 2016 by BarleyNY

[NoSaint]

 

At no point was Bradford looking at walking away from the game. That is BS. He wanted to go to another team that didn't have another QB to challenge him.

the wentz pick isnt a qb that is going to challenge him, its a qb that is going to replace him pretty much no matter what. this isnt an open competition, he is a placeholder.

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

the guy just wants to play the game. philly has moved away from him completely, so he wants out, so he can play the game somewhere. sounds reasonable to me. who wants to sit. guys finally healthy and now he's screwed, sitting behind some rookie.. he should have kept it out of the media, but his fundamental argument stands. he is out in philly, so he wants out. NFL careers are extremely limited in time, so if philly doesn't want him, maybe someone else will give him a shot. all he wants is shot to start, and he no longer has that opportunity in Philly. yeah, a contract is a contract , etc. got it. but his request is not unreasonable. doesn't mean philly will do it, but to ask for it (not thru the media) is not wrong

Philly has stated repeatedly that Bradford is the starter this season. They have no intention of rushing Wentz onto the field, and without a 1st round pick next year they have little reason to not try to win the division.

 

Aaron Rodgers is arguably the best QB I'm the league right now, and he sat for 2 years behind Farve.

[iinii]

 

@sn_nfl

 

Sam Bradford looks like a 'coward' to Terrell Owens http://dlvr.it/LDwYJK

 

 

 

 

That one has to sting

There's a big difference here. The wear and tear on bodies and brains in the NFL is a factor. Once you've made a whole lot of money - NINE figures in Bradford's case - things like concussions, CTE and other injuries are big considerations. $100M and walking away healthy might look a lot better than $110M with potential health issues.

Exactly

[All_Pro_Bills]

the wentz pick isnt a qb that is going to challenge him, its a qb that is going to replace him pretty much no matter what. this isnt an open competition, he is a placeholder.

I think that's it. The Eagles traded up to pick Wentz with the plan that he'll be their franchise QB in the future. Bradford knows that, Wentz knows that, the Eagles know that, in fact everybody knows that. There's nothing wrong with what the team is doing just maybe how the situation played out. Bradford gets a big 2-year deal, they sign Chase Daniels for around $7m per season as a back up and then decide to pull the trigger on the trade up to #2. So the 2nd overall pick in the draft is the 3rd string clip board holder? How may reps is he going to get in practice. What does this mean to Daniels?

 

To me it appears they were done addressing the QB position and investing a lot of the cap to do so. But with the trade up in the 1st round there was a major shift in thinking that occurred somewhere between Bradford's deal and the draft. I'm sure this took Bradford by surprise and others too inside the organization.

 

Maybe they should have informed Bradford of the teams intentions and the change in direction before they went public with the trade up deal? Maybe Bradford should have reacted differently? Probably, he should have kept his thoughts between the Eagles and himself. I can see his point in being PO'd but there was certainly a better way to handle it than what came off as a public temper tantrum. A private face to face all cards on the table man to man discussion between the QB and the GM would have accomplished a lot more and done a lot less damage.

[NoSaint]

A private face to face all cards on the table man to man discussion between the QB and the GM would have accomplished a lot more and done a lot less damage.

once calls start being made, its hard to keep it fully in house. you suddenly have not just your guys, but other teams (GMS and coaches) involved.

 

I dont recall if his push was initially made public by his side, or simply acknowledged as true once reporters started saying it.

 

was it ideal for the team? nope! any teammates/coaches still effected or talking about this are as wrong, if not more though. the guy has a career and this is a business - he pushed for something that would be best for him, it didnt work out and he showed up to work. i think everyone can, hopefully, be men about that.

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

 

Maybe they should have informed Bradford of the teams intentions and the change in direction before they went public with the trade up deal? Maybe Bradford should have reacted differently? Probably, he should have kept his thoughts between the Eagles and himself. I can see his point in being PO'd but there was certainly a better way to handle it than what came off as a public temper tantrum. A private face to face all cards on the table man to man discussion between the QB and the GM would have accomplished a lot more and done a lot less damage.

According to HC Doug Piederson, when both Bradford and Daniel were signed they were told that they would be drafting a guy for the future.

 

The difference being, at the time the Eagles were picking at 13. No one had any way of knowing that they could trade Kiko and Maxwell for 8, and then that they could move to 2.

 

An expected "oh, they'll pick up someone in rounds 2-4. I can beat him oUT easy" became an expected franchise player

[Malazan]

the wentz pick isnt a qb that is going to challenge him, its a qb that is going to replace him pretty much no matter what. this isnt an open competition, he is a placeholder.

 

There's a difference between expectation and reality. They "expect" Wentz to replace Bradford. If Bradford plays well, the reality is he won't have to worry about Wentz. Given the odds of Wentz amounting to anything...Bradford's concern should be more about the odds of him amounting to anything.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

 

There's a difference between expectation and reality. They "expect" Wentz to replace Bradford. If Bradford plays well, the reality is he won't have to worry about Wentz. Given the odds of Wentz amounting to anything...Bradford's concern should be more about the odds of him amounting to anything.

 

Exactly this. Think Rivers and San Diego. Rivers was clearly picked to replace Brees, who wasn't initially looking like all that and the bag of chips they drafted him to be. Brees put a lock on the starting job Rivers first year and ultimately kept Rivers on the bench for 2 years, even performing so well San Diego decided to franchise him in order to keep him the 2nd year. Then, even injured in the 3rd year, Brees had the leverage to be offered a big deal with the Saints.

 

 

Philly has stated repeatedly that Bradford is the starter this season. They have no intention of rushing Wentz onto the field, and without a 1st round pick next year they have little reason to not try to win the division.

 

Aaron Rodgers is arguably the best QB I'm the league right now, and he sat for 2 years behind Farve.

 

Yep. Rodgers sat 3 years, but who's counting. Bradford had every reason to believe he'd start this year, and every reason to believe if he played well, he could keep Wentz on the bench a couple of years and then command another big contract at the end.

 

the guy just wants to play the game. philly has moved away from him completely, so he wants out, so he can play the game somewhere. sounds reasonable to me. who wants to sit. guys finally healthy and now he's screwed, sitting behind some rookie.. he should have kept it out of the media, but his fundamental argument stands. he is out in philly, so he wants out. NFL careers are extremely limited in time, so if philly doesn't want him, maybe someone else will give him a shot. all he wants is shot to start, and he no longer has that opportunity in Philly. yeah, a contract is a contract , etc. got it. but his request is not unreasonable. doesn't mean philly will do it, but to ask for it (not thru the media) is not wrong

 

All respect, I think this is hornswoggle. Philly has not moved away from Bradford completely, they gave him a 2 year contract with fat guarantees expecting him to start certainly this year, maybe the next two years. This isn't about "just wants to play the game", this is about a guy who saw a better team (Denver) in crying need of a QB but with little cap room, and who figured if he could push his team to trade him he could leverage his team-friendly salary and mebbe put a Superbowl ring on his lilly-white, overpaid, underperforming fingers.

Edited May 12, 2016 by Hopeful

[NoSaint]

 

There's a difference between expectation and reality. They "expect" Wentz to replace Bradford. If Bradford plays well, the reality is he won't have to worry about Wentz. Given the odds of Wentz amounting to anything...Bradford's concern should be more about the odds of him amounting to anything.

sorry, GMs dont make that trade not to see their guy play. it just doesnt happen short of bradford putting together two great years. And then its just an audition to go elsewhere. There is no way that you believe bradford, even if playing very well, is an eagle and starting long term.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

sorry, GMs dont make that trade not to see their guy play. it just doesnt happen short of bradford putting together two great years. And then its just an audition to go elsewhere. There is no way that you believe bradford, even if playing very well, is an eagle and starting long term.

 

Funny aside: No jive here. I was going to bring up the Rivers-Eli Manning trade so I looked it up - AND I COMPLETELY HAD IT BACKWARDS, didn't remember that it was the Giants who piled up the loot to get the Chargers to send them Eli Manning.

 

I do agree that Bradford will not be an Eagle long term. I do think they expect him to start the season, and if he plays this year as he did last year, esp. towards the end of the season, I think Wentz sits for a year, two if Bradford is really on a roll. And really, why wouldn't a competitive, professional athlete believe he can bench a rookie described as "a big, raw, athletic prospect with a good arm."? Camp battles between a decent vet and a rookie typically favor the vet, even if the Iggles stage an honest to god open audition camp battle.

 

So yeah, bench the rookie and audition to go elsewhere, don't go sulk in the cupboard.

 

The more I think about this, the more I think this was a specific power-play of Bradford wanting to take his $11M signing bonus and go to Denver, where if he plays adequately and the D stays strong, he has an honest-to-god chance to play on a championship team.

[NoSaint]

 

Funny aside: No jive here. I was going to bring up the Rivers-Eli Manning trade so I looked it up - AND I COMPLETELY HAD IT BACKWARDS, didn't remember that it was the Giants who piled up the loot to get the Chargers to send them Eli Manning.

 

I do agree that Bradford will not be an Eagle long term. I do think they expect him to start the season, and if he plays this year as he did last year, esp. towards the end of the season, I think Wentz sits for a year, two if Bradford is really on a roll. And really, why wouldn't a competitive, professional athlete believe he can bench a rookie described as "a big, raw, athletic prospect with a good arm."? Camp battles between a decent vet and a rookie typically favor the vet, even if the Iggles stage an honest to god open audition camp battle.

 

So yeah, bench the rookie and audition to go elsewhere, don't go sulk in the cupboard.

 

The more I think about this, the more I think this was a specific power-play of Bradford wanting to take his $11M signing bonus and go to Denver, where if he plays adequately and the D stays strong, he has an honest-to-god chance to play on a championship team.

I agree he eouldbe loved that spot - could've been a potential long term successful pairing had it worked out but it didn't, and now he's back working. The dude made a play, it failed, and now he swallowed his pride and is back at work.

[26CornerBlitz]

Looks like Wentz is gonna get Favred by Bradford.

 

@JClarkCSN

Carson Wentz has heard from many teammates but hasnt spoken to Sam Bradford yet. #Eagles

[26CornerBlitz]

@RapSheet

Sam Bradford: "When I found out about the trade, I was frustrated, I needed time. … I'm not sure my headed would've been here those 2 wks."

Bradford: "My agent thought that (requesting the trade) was the best option & after those 2 wks, we realized this was the best place to be."

@JClarkCSN

Sam Bradford on fans: "I get it. They have a right to be frustrated... Its not pretty out there right now." #Eagles

 

[26CornerBlitz]

Carson Wentz has looked better than Bradford during the Eagles' OTAs.

 

@SBNationNFL

The Eagles' quarterback controversy is still going strong through OTAs. http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2016/5/31/11820636/eagles-practice-notes-sam-bradford-philadelphia-carson-wentz-otas-interceptions-chase-daniel