A lot eyes at the outset of Philadelphia Eagles offseason activities Thursday were on the quarterbacks group and specifically a one, Mr. Tim Tebow.
While Tebow took a lot of reps and reportedly looked okay in doing so, presumed starter and former first-overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, Sam Bradford did not see any live work.
After Thursday's training session, Bradford offered an update on his efforts to return to the field after suffering an ACL tear in his left knee during a preseason game while still a member of the St. Louis Rams last year.
"I think I get more comfortable out here every day," he said, via Tim McManus of PhillyMag.com. "I get more comfortable with my knee and where it's at every day the more I'm out here. Obviously it would be nice to take some live reps and I think we're progressing towards that. I'm sure once I get out there and take some reps on 7-on-7 or on team things it will really start to come together."
Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported earlier that Bradford had been limited throughout the spring and had not been participating in team drills during Eagles OTAs this week, suggesting he may have suffered a setback.
Bradford said that was not the case.
"I think that was part of the plan. I don't think it was necessarily a scale back," he said. "I think they wanted to push it and see how it responded. It responded well and they knew that it could handle it but then we just took it back because we had an extra amount of time."
Bradford, 27, is about nine months out from ACL surgery - the second such injury he has sustained to his left knee. He said that this time around things are moving slower, though that may also be part of the plan.
"I think as long as we continue to progress and we don't have any setbacks, I feel very comfortable with where my knee is at right now," he said.
Eagles head coach Chip Kelly also spoke to the media Thursday and said that his new potential franchise quarterback is currently in Phase One of a three-phase process.
"We all think there's three phases: there is medical rehab, there is performance rehab, and then there is prepare to play," said Kelly. "He's probably right at the tail end of medical rehab. He'll probably start throwing some 7-on-7 next week, but I think he is right on schedule in terms of where he is."
Bradford has not appeared in a regular season NFL game in over 19 months.
