Amid all the Eagles' questions, Sam Bradford's health and ability loom largest – Washington Post
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford runs onto the field for organized team activities in June. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo)
PHILADELPHIA – The biggest gamble in the NFL walked off the practice field without a limp, but then again, he had not practiced fully. Sam Bradford approached the group of reporters with confidence, though the fact is, he has not played in a regular-season game since October 2013.
These are the small things that signal progress when it comes to Bradford, the meaningful baby steps that show where an injury prone quarterback is in his rehabilitation.
Bradford, a veteran of professional football and also operating tables, had no idea last month how healthy his left knee truly was – or when he might be ready to join his new team without participation limits. “As far as a date of clearance – hey you’re going to be 100 percent on this date, you’re going to be ready to go – no one knows that,” Bradford said after an offseason practice session in which he participated in individual drills but sat out the more intense full-squad work.
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And so the Eagles, and those interested in the biggest hint of the Eagles’s fortunes in 2015, continue to wait. Which, given the lack of news, leads of course to many more questions as the summer months inch toward the new NFL season. Can Bradford, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2010, turn around a career marked to this point not by victories but by two torn ACLs in less than a year? Is Chip Kelly, the eccentric but resolute Eagles coach who traded Philadelphia’s starting QB, Nick Foles, to St. Louis for Bradford, a man who can save a quarterback’s career – or, if the most important acquisition of a wild offseason goes sideways, defend his own? Can the Eagles, who seem to value upside more than recent history, survive in the unpredictable NFC East without consistency at the most important position?
At this moment, as Bradford put it, it is simply too early to know. But Bradford’s knee is perhaps the most intriguing storyline in the entire division — the most valuable body part — and, if nothing else, represents a significant dice roll for a franchise still finding itself in Kelly’s third year. Foles, after all, won 14 of the games he started for Kelly over two seasons, leading Philadelphia to the playoffs in 2013. But those surrounding the franchise believe one thing when it comes to Foles: that Kelly didn’t believe the fourth-year passer had it in him to be an elite quarterback. Any season, at least in Kelly’s wandering mind, waiting and hoping for such a thing would be a waste — and so Kelly, who also values immediacy, opted to move on.
Bradford, for his part, has undeniable talent. He won the 2008 Heisman Trophy and led Oklahoma to the 2009 BCS championship game. He has a quick release, an easy motion and enticing mobility; Bradford excelled in Bob Stoops’s spread offense, distributing passes to several receivers, and it seems obvious that Kelly – a fellow devotee of the spread-it-around discipline – sees an upside with Bradford that Foles perhaps could not reach.
Still, it’s not Bradford’s statistics that he is known for, or even his 18-30-1 record as an NFL quarterback. Less than a year after Bradford’s Sooners lost to Florida in that national championship game, he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during his junior season. Bradford, whose upside again outweighed his injury history in advance of the 2010 draft (in which the other quarterback options included Tim Tebow, Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy), has missed part or all of three of his five NFL seasons.
He tore the ACL in his left knee in October 2013 and reinjured the repaired ligament in a preseason game last August. The Rams, once seeing Bradford as their franchise quarterback, seemed as ready to part ways with Bradford as the Eagles were to send away Foles (though draft picks were also involved on both sides of the transaction). Regardless, the trade has been criticized by media and questioned by fans, who along with the Eagles continue to wait and hope as Bradford slowly heals – so much uncertainty in the balance.
“Sam’s doing a great job in terms of what we’ve asked him to do,” said Kelly, who was given final roster approval earlier this offseason and therefore signed off on the Bradford trade. “So we think he’s right on track and is probably where we think he is right now.”
The Eagles’ other quarterbacks are Mark Sanchez, Matt Barkley and Tim Tebow – not exactly a safety net of confidence beneath Bradford. Kelly, who among other moves also acquired running back DeMarco Murray and offloaded star players LeSean McCoy and Evan Mathis, seems to have attracted the most attention for his faith in Bradford and the band of risky quarterbacks with which he’ll presumably enter the 2015 season. After all, it will likely be Bradford or Sanchez — combined NFL winning percentage: 46.7 — starting for the Eagles against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 14.
“That will be the thing to watch Coach Kelly: Can he get Sam Bradford to stay on the field? Can he get Sanchez and kind of give him a rebirth? Because that’s where it’s going to live and die,” said Mark Dominik, the former Tampa Bay general manager who’s now an ESPN analyst.
Almost immediately after the Bradford trade, the Eagles placed him on a baby-steps plan that would test his repaired knee gradually. His workload increased by “10 to 15 percent” each week, the quarterback estimated, and by late spring he was participating in seven-on-seven offensive drills, a light responsibility in which Bradford drops back and tosses to receivers with no danger of contact.
“From the (first) day I’ve been here,” he said in late May, “we’ve talked about a progression, and I think this is kind of the progression that we’ve put out there. Everything the past couple weeks has gone exactly how we wanted it to, and I think we’re going to keep going with the plan.”
Kelly, who is often vague with reporters, wouldn’t say much about Bradford’s timeline – or when he is expected to begin 11-on-11 practices. Even if he is healthy when Philadelphia begins training camp Aug. 2, Bradford will have six weeks before the regular-season opener; he would not face full contact in a game environment, the ultimate test for a surgically repaired knee, until at least the first preseason contest, on Aug. 16.
“We’re going to take it day by day; keep progressing,” Bradford said. “It’s trending in the right direction. I’ve increased the workload the past couple weeks, and it’s continued to feel great afterward. I think as long as it continues to feel good, we’re doing the right thing.”
Kelly, whose own reputation could be determined by the outcome of his gamble, put it more simply when he was asked if Bradford will be ready for full participation by the beginning of training camp: “God, we hope so,” Kelly said.
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