Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford's lengthy injury history is fairly well known to even the most casual of NFL fans. The former first-overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft has now lost the majority of the last two NFL seasons to ACL tears of the same knee. That's why it was so newsworthy then, when Bradford took the field for the first time as a healthy, active member of his new franchise, the Eagles, during a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night. While Bradford ultimately made it through the experience unscathed - a, no doubt, encouraging sign for fans and Eagles head coach Chip Kelly alike - it wasn't without a couple of scary moments, one of which involved Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs and a hit that longtime Eagles tackle Jason Peters dubbed a "cheap shot."
"He was trying to just take a cheap shot at the quarterback. I'm pretty sure he planned it," Peters said after the game, via Josh Paunil of PhillyMag.com. "We practiced them all week; they knew he was running the read-option. Anytime you get a quarterback running the read-option, they can take a cheap shot."
Check out the hit for yourself...
It certainly looks like Suggs had no plans to even entertain the notion of going after the running back. It also looks like he hit Bradford, who he assuredly knows is coming off knee reconstruction, pretty low.
For his part, Suggs was vehement that what he did was well within the letter of the law of the game, despite the fact that he was flagged on the play.
"I could've hit him harder on that. I didn't. I eased up," Suggs said, via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
In the end, it matters little as the fact that Bradford was able to knock some rust off without reinjuring himself was the biggest storyline from the game - beyond the endless penalties incurred by the Ravens and the general ineptitude shown by the entire Baltimore team. Bradford's final statline - three completions on five attempts for 35-yards - won't wow anyone, but it certainly looked good, especially considering he led the team on an 11-play, 84-yard touchdown drive against the Ravens starters.
The Eagles and Bradford face another important test next week against the Green Bay Packers, while Suggs and the Ravens will look to regroup before facing off against the Redskins at home.
