I hope Sam Bradford wasn’t expecting a hero’s welcome.
The former No. 1 overall pick returned to the Eagles Monday following a ridiculous two-week holdout. I’m guessing the mood wasn’t all that celebratory. No balloons, no cakes—just the awkwardness that follows when your leader abandons you in a time of need. I’m sure that’s exactly how Doug Pederson drew it up when he accepted the Eagles’ head coaching job in January.
Bradford was fortunate to land a two-year deal this offseason after posting the league’s ninth-lowest passer rating in 2015. Nothing says contract extension like getting outperformed by the likes of Teddy Bridgewater and Brock Osweiler. Yet Bradford, an injury-prone underachiever who has appeared in exactly zero playoff games since debuting in 2010, had the stones to turn his back on the only organization that wanted him.
And trust me, I know where Bradford is coming from. Nobody wants to be replaced. It was bad enough the Eagles brought in Pederson favorite Chase Daniel to breathe down Bradford’s neck. But then Philadelphia took it a step further by sending Cleveland a bounty of picks for the right to draft North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz. It’s clear the Eagles have every intention of making Wentz their franchise quarterback. But not yet. Coming from FCS, Wentz will need at least a year to acclimate to the NFL, maybe two.
Bradford knew what he was signing up for. The two-year deal was Philadelphia’s gentle way of saying, “well, we don’t have anyone better right now, but we will in two years, so here’s $36 million.” There are guys that have it way worse than Bradford. $26 million guaranteed to be a placeholder for two years—where can I sign up for that?
Many players would have embraced a leadership role but Bradford refused to take Wentz under his wing, instead opting for an ill-conceived holdout that went about as well as expected. Here was Bradford’s statement to ESPN’s Adam Schefter: “I’m excited to be back on the field today with my teammates and coaches. The business-side of football is sometimes a necessary consideration. My attention and efforts are focused on the participation in and preparation for a championship season: I am committed to my teammates and the Eagles organization for nothing less.”
Maybe it’ll all blow over. Forgive and forget. But I doubt it. You don’t want to make an enemy out of Philadelphia. Even Santa doesn’t get a free pass in this city. They’re already mocking Bradford with condescending sandwiches and I imagine things are only going to get worse as the calls for Wentz get louder and louder. People forget the Eagles were an unmitigated disaster last season and Bradford played a major role in the debacle.
All Bradford has really done in this league is make money. He earned a massive $78 million contract from St. Louis a year before the rookie wage scale came into effect. He then rewarded the Rams by tearing his ACL twice and only reaching 20 touchdowns once in four seasons. Bradford is a mediocre pro who is still living off his college accomplishments. Even if the Eagles decided to install Wentz as the starter this year, what’s so bad about getting paid $7 million to hold a clipboard? Mark Sanchez wasn’t complaining when he rode the pine last season.
Players hold out all the time, so it’s interesting that Bradford has gotten so much heat for doing it. The difference is that most of those players are underpaid, at least relative to the market. Bradford has a higher annual salary than perennial Pro Bowlers Carson Wentz and Andy Dalton. He was holding out mostly because he got his feelings hurt and was threatened by a younger, better player. In a sport that prides itself on toughness, that’s about the least tough thing you can do.
It’s unclear if the Eagles ever seriously considered trading Bradford. The Broncos had legitimate interest (or at least made it look like they did) in Bradford leading up to the draft but they balked at Philadelphia’s high asking price. The talks teetered out and soon Denver moved on to Plan B: Paxton Lynch.
Bradford, Sanchez, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Colin Kaepernick are all trapped in a sort of quarterback purgatory. Bradford is keeping the seat warm for Wentz while Sanchez is occupying a similar role in Denver. Fitzpatrick overplayed his hand with the Jets and now they have Christian Hackenberg waiting in the wings. Like Bradford, Kaepernick returned to the 49ers with his tail between his legs after demanding a trade that never came to fruition. Right now, it’s not looking good for any of them. The lower tier of NFL starting quarterbacks is a confusing place indeed.
Reed Cashes In
For years we imagined what it would be like if Jordan Reed could stay healthy. Now we don’t have to imagine any more. The Redskins tight end still fell short of playing a full season—he missed Weeks 5 and 6 with a concussion—but 14 games was more than enough to make his presence felt. The Connecticut native emerged as Washington’s go-to receiver, leading the team with 87 catches for 952 yards. Among tight ends, only Rob Gronkowski, Delanie Walker and Greg Olsen averaged more receiving yards per game than Reed (68.0).
Apparently one healthy season was all the Redskins needed to see. Thursday they extended Reed’s contract with an eye-popping five-year, $46.5 million pact. That makes him the league’s third-highest paid tight end behind only Jimmy Graham and Travis Kelce. Entering the last year of his rookie deal, Reed was probably gearing up for a massive bidding war in free agency. But Washington’s offer of $22 million guaranteed was too good to pass up. With Reed off the market, Jordan Cameron and Martellus Bennett will headline an underwhelming class of free agent tight ends in 2017.
Reed is on the smaller end of the tight end spectrum (6’2/237) but he makes up for it with excellent hands and above-average speed (4.72 forty time). He was the focal point of Washington’s offense last year, drawing a team-high 114 targets from quarterback Kirk Cousins. Reed was also a steady red zone presence, pacing the Redskins with 11 touchdowns. That total tied Gronkowski for the most by an NFL tight end.
Cousins is one of the more risk-averse quarterbacks in the league and Reed was his safety valve last year when deep threat DeSean Jackson wasn’t at 100 percent. The Redskins added first-round wide receiver Josh Doctson to the mix but I don’t think that changes much for Reed. Cousins had his most success throwing to Reed last season and I think that trend will continue as the contract-year quarterback approaches his first big payday.
Reed wasn’t the only tight end to get paid last week. Delanie Walker inked a two-year, $14.7 million extension with Tennessee on Friday. Walker’s ceiling isn’t as high as Reid’s—he’s six years older and plays for a team that hasn’t been competitive in a long time. But it’s hard to ignore Walker’s career-best numbers from a season ago: 94 catches for 1,088 yards and six touchdowns. He was also a major PPR asset with nine games of at least seven catches including four of his last five.
As good as he was last year, fantasy owners should temper their expectations for Walker heading in 2016. The Titans’ offense is going to be a lot more run-centric following the additions of DeMarco Murray and Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry. With athletic freak Dorial Green-Beckham ready to take on a bigger role and Rishard Matthews arriving from Miami, the target pool also figures to be a bit more cluttered than in years past. Regardless, adding two years to Walker’s deal at a relatively team-friendly rate should prove to be a wise investment.
Quick Hits: Dri Archer ran one of the fastest forty times ever at the 2014 Combine (4.26). Unfortunately for Archer, that speed hasn’t translated to much success in the NFL. He was let go by the Jets on Monday only a few months after getting waived by Pittsburgh … Vick Ballard finished fourth in rookie rushing yards in 2012. He’s barely played a down since (only one game) and might find himself out of the NFL altogether after getting cut by the Saints on Monday … The Chargers kept Melvin Gordon’s micro-fracture surgery a secret for four months. Micro-fracture surgery carries a dangerous stigma (the mere possibility of it prevented Myles Jack from going in the first round) but Gordon hasn’t had any limitations at voluntary practices this spring … The Seahawks are shuffling their offensive line. Garry Gilliam is moving from right to left tackle while Justin Britt will shift from left guard to center. The Seahawks are trying to make do without J.R. Sweezy and Russell Okung, who both left in free agency … The Panthers have opened extension talks with Kawann Short. Carolina has the fourth-most cap space in the league after letting Josh Norman go last month … Seahawks third-round pick C.J. Prosise has been getting reps at wide receiver this spring. The former Notre Dame running back should have an immediate role on passing downs … The Cardinals have hired Byron Leftwich as a coaching intern. The former first-round pick last played for the Steelers in 2012 … Peyton Manning has been mentoring Ryan Tannehill this spring. “It was really cool just to be able to sit and pick his brain about things he’s done in this offense and football things in general,” said Tannehill. Maybe we’ll see Manning return to the league as a coach some day … Miami agreed to a two-year extension with Cameron Wake on Saturday. Wake missed nine games with a torn Achilles last year … Carson Wentz didn’t slide much in college. Eagles coach Doug Pederson said he’ll need to in the NFL. “I love his aggressiveness when he’s running out of the pocket,” said Pederson. “But in the National Football League there’s going to come a time when you’ve got to get down or out of bounds” … Dominique Easley worked out for the Bengals recently. He hasn’t generated much interest since getting cut by the Patriots last month … Chiefs fifth-round wide receiver Tyreek Hill is still trying to rehab his image after pleading guilty to domestic violence charges last year. “Those fans have every right to be mad at me, because I did something wrong, I let my emotions get the best of me,” said Hill. “I’m [about] to come back and be a better man, be a better citizen, and everything will take care of itself, and let God do the rest” … Antonio Cromartie and his wife welcomed twins on Mother’s Day. If you’re keeping track at home, that’s 12 children for Cromartie, who thought he was done having kids after undergoing a vasectomy last year … Dak Prescott criticized Tony Romo on his Twitter account a few years ago after a bad game against Washington. Now they’re teammates. “I’m going to let him bring it up,” said Prescott. “I’m sure he’ll think it’s funny” … Sean McDonough will join Jon Gruden in the Monday Night Football booth this year. Mike Tirico is moving to NBC this fall after 10 years of covering MNF for ESPN … The NFL was well-represented at the Kentucky Derby with Aaron Rodgers, David Bakhtiari, Bryan Bulaga, Mark Sanchez, Sean Payton and Ron Rivera all in attendance. Drew Silva was there too.
