by PHILADELPHIA (AP) — 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.
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.
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.”
