When Eagles head coach Chip Kelly claimed earlier this week that he was offered a first-round pick for Sam Bradford immediately after acquiring him, he was met with plenty of raised eyebrows and outright skepticism. However, appearing today on PFT Live (Twitter link), Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said that his team was also offered a low first-round pick for Bradford, but that the Rams agreed to the deal with Philadelphia because he wanted Nick Foles.
A quick look at the draft order for 2015 reveals that there are no teams near the bottom of the first round with a need at quarterback. The Patriots, Saints, Packers, Colts, Broncos, Cowboys, Ravens, Panthers, Lions, and Steelers wouldn’t have interest in Bradford, and it’s extremely unlikely the Cardinals or Bengals would either. That means the first logical team to have potentially offered a first-rounder to the Rams is probably the Eagles at No. 20.
Fisher indicated today (Twitter link) that he wasn’t sure if the team that offered the Rams a first-round pick for Bradford was the same team that offered the Eagles a first-rounder for Bradford. That comment suggests that it wasn’t Philadelphia that made the Rams the offer. The Browns, with two first-round picks – including No. 19 – and a reported interest in Bradford, make the most sense.
Of course, while it’s entirely possible that the Browns – or another team – offered a first-round pick to both the Rams and Eagles, and both teams turned it down, it’s also possible that no such offer was on the table for either club. Fisher adamantly denied at the combine that the team was considering moving Bradford, so it’s not as if we should believe everything he says. As for Kelly, if he intends to move forward with Bradford as his starting quarterback, he has some motivation to display faith in the former first overall pick.