When Sam Bradford signed a two-year, ~$36MM deal in March, he didn’t envision that his starting job would be in jeopardy. On Wednesday, Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich noted that while Bradford is currently regarded as the team’s top quarterback, nothing is guaranteed for him.
“I said there’s order, and the order is Sam’s No. 1, Chase [Daniel] is No. 2, and Carson [Wentz] is No. 3,” Reich said (link via Zach Berman of The Inquirer). “But you compete every day at practice. That’s the same – Jason Peters is the No. 1 left tackle, and so on and so forth –and it’s the same at every position. I would never change that. Sam’s No. 1. Chase is No. 2. Carson is No. 3. And you compete every day.”
Here’s more on the Eagles and their strange QB situation:
- Recently, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie indicated to Jenny Vrentas of The MMQB that the team’s current quarterback structure was planned to be this way. “Having a lot of assets at the most important position in the NFL is a good strategic move for now. And it can only benefit us,” Lurie said. “Because in the NFL, it’s the one position you can’t just go get. And so when you have an opportunity, you’ve gotta take your shot, and you’ve gotta be bold. Otherwise, if you say to yourself, you know, it is probably a 50-50 shot that maybe the quarterback will be really good, you can’t let that deter you. So that’s how I look at it: You either have a really good QB and you compete for the Super Bowl, or you don’t and you are probably not competing for the Super Bowl. And that’s simple.”
- ESPN.com’s Phil Sheridan calls shenanigans on this notion, arguing that the Eagles simply signed Bradford and Daniel when they held the No. 13 overall pick. At the time, they didn’t know that they would be able to trade up to No. 2, but when the opportunity presented itself, they went ahead and pulled the trigger anyway.
- Earlier this week, one Eagles beat reporter observed that Wentz seems to be picking up the new playbook faster than Bradford.