About this time last offseason, Chip Kelly pulled off a trade that brought Sam Bradford to Philadelphia for the final year of his contract and sent Nick Foles to St. Louis. Shortly thereafter, speculation ran wild that Kelly was planning to flip Bradford for a QB that better fit his system.
Kelly might have even been planning to include Bradford in a draft-day blockbuster to trade up to the second overall selection and take Marcus Mariota. But perhaps Bradford's destiny in Philadelphia really was to be flipped, albeit after one full season and a new contract.
Bradford's two-year contract worth $36 million ($22 million guaranteed) has an $11-million signing bonus to paid in two installments. The first installment is for $5.5 million and is not due until March 18, more than a week after the official start of free agency, and the second is due on Sept. 1, right around the start of the season.
The contract does have performance-based incentives that could pay him handsomely, but the Eagles would only pay some of those bonuses if he wins playoff games. With the Houston Texans pledging up to $18 million a year to Brock Osweiler for four years, two years at the same average salary does not seem so steep for Bradford.
Unlike Osweiler, Bradford has experience starting, albeit for a couple teams that were mediocre at best. But the Eagles won seven games last season when Bradford was the starter, and the QB posted a career-best 65 percent completion rate in a season that can best be described as overall tumultuous.
Shortly after re-signing Bradford, the Eagles signed Chase Daniel to compete for the starting QB job. Doug Pederson, Kelly's replacement and Daniel's offensive coordinator in Kansas City, may be overvaluing a QB who has spent his six-year career as a backup, or the team is prepared to part with Bradford for the right price rather than letting him go as a free agent.
The alternative is Bradford stays, likely wins the starting QB job and the Eagles either build around him or let Daniel have a shot.
Another indicator the Eagles would have to at least listen to offers on Bradford is the possibility of not having to pay him. Howe Roseman, the Eagles' executive VP of football operations, has already managed to trim huge chunks of salary by shipping out DeMarco Murray, Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso. In a way, those trades also cleared room for Bradford's contract.
But Roseman could clear more space by trading Bradford if he does so before the start of the season or, better yet, within the next week. The Eagles may not be contenders during the life of Bradford's contract so trading him would be a sign the team is committed to rebuilding.
Roseman can still rebuild with Bradford because he managed to create more cap room than he had at the end of the season. But say he keeps Bradford and the Eagles are looking like a 10-to-12-win team this time in two years. Bradford will almost certainly have had something to do with that and would be in for a raise.
Roseman then faces the possibility of paying the QB at least $20 million per year for more than two years. Whether that scenario intrigues him or terrifies him, he has certainly though about it, and he will need to decide if he can let it play out for another team.
