Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly will forever be linked to quarterback Sam Bradford. Following back-to-back 10-6 seasons with Nick Foles as his primary starter, Kelly remade the roster in his image this offseason, starting with the swap of Foles for Bradford. The result? The Eagles sit at 5-7 right now and have taken a step back in almost every major offensive category.
To be fair, Foles has floundered with the St. Louis Rams this year. Kelly was right to try and upgrade. But he took a big risk by messing with the "If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It Formula" and Philly has suffered because of it. Bradford ranks 27th in the NFL in passer rating at the moment (83.5), that's behind guys like Ryan Tannehill, Matthew Stafford, Matt Hasselbeck and Josh McCown (it is four spots ahead of Foles, though).
So has Kelly's experiment definitively failed or will Bradford get another shot in 2016 to prove himself?
"Sam Bradford will make a strong case to remain the Eagles' quarterback after this season," ESPN's Phil Sheridan wrote in a Last Season Predictions list. "Bradford's contract expires after the season and efforts to work out an extension have been unsuccessful. But as Bradford has improved - passer rating of 99.3 or better in his past three games, no interceptions since Oct. 25 - the Eagles' other options at quarterback seem less promising and more risky than sticking with Bradford."
In 10 games this season, Bradford is completing a career high 63.5 percent of his passes and has thrown for 2,417 yards with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Those aren't awful raw numbers by any stretch, but Bradford hasn't played consistently well at any point outside of the second half of the season opener. Philly is just 5-5 in games that he has started this year and their offense ranks 16th in yards-per-game (352.1) and 15th in points (23.2), down from fifth and third, respectively, last year.
Not all of that falls on the shoulders of Bradford. Kelly jettisoned his two starting guards and running back in the offseason while losing the team's top wide receiver in free agency. But the same issues that plagued Bradford in St. Louis - namely, an aversion to throwing deep and injuries - have followed him to Philly. Right now, we don't know if Kelly can fix them.
