That plan went out the window Saturday when the Eagles traded Bradford to Minnesota, who was desperate for a quarterback in the wake of Teddy Bridgewater’s devastating knee injury last week. They were saying to themselves ‘hey, who are we rolling with this season?’ Shaun Hill?
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By now you’ve probably heard that the two teams pulled off an absolute blockbuster of a deal, sending quarterback Sam Bradford to the Vikings for a 2017 first-round pick and a 2018 conditional fourth-rounder. They investigated the Jets’ situation, with their four quarterbacks. I had an opportunity to talk to them and ask what they have seen in the quarterback room.
“With Sam Bradford; here’s what you’re getting”, Former Giants quarterback and current ESPN NFL analyst Danny Kanell said Monday on ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike.
The Vikings are expected to challenge for the Super Bowl, so the selection may not be very high, but it at least gives the Birds a draft pick that they had parted with to move up this spring to select Carson Wentz with the second pick in the National Football League draft.
Despite the acquisition of veteran Sam Bradford, Minnesota’s “tentative plan” is to start Shaun Hill under center in their Week 1 matchup against the Titans in Tennessee. Bradford will be armed with a simplified portion of the offense in case Hill is injured.
Bradford could potentially play in Week 2 when the Vikings host the Green Bay Packers in their shiny new stadium. “I’m excited to be a part of this football team”. And I’m really just trying to familiarize myself with both the personnel and the playbook.
“We don’t have the same number of picks, we don’t have the same amount of resources going forward … we get some of that back”.
Some people have said that the Vikings gave up too much. Spielman added that they will be having a talented roster not only for this season.
Spielman still has eight picks next year and believes he can grow that to his usual goal of 10. The Vikings turned right back into Super Bowl contenders.
The only downside to that is that if the Browns have proven one thing over the past few years, it’s that they don’t really know what to do with their first-round picks.
There is another key element that helps validate Spielman’s decision to pay heavily for Bradford.
Bridgewater suffered a dislocated left knee, torn anterior cruciate ligament and other structural damage in a routine practice drill on Tuesday and is facing surgery. He has yet to have his surgery.
But even if Wentz isn’t the starter to begin the season, the trade on Saturday doesn’t happen unless the team is comfortable with his progress and his ability to play this season, even if he is just the backup.
Although he couldn’t come out and say it Roseman’s intimation was clear, the Eagles took a step backward in the short-term in order to give them a better opportunity to succeed in the future by acquiring two significant assets for a player that wasn’t going to be in Philadelphia next season anyway.
Sanchez isn’t a very good quarterback anymore, certainly not starting material.
Bradford has a deal for next season, and even if the Cowboys can cut him and save $13 million of the salary cap, it still comes with $4 million of dead money. The Eagles paid his $11 million signing bonus.
But Bradford has a 25-37-1 career record and has never started a playoff game. But, if he is able to finally crack that star talent that has always seemed to elude him, we could be in for a special year.
It could be a huge expense for a one-year rental. That pick can elevate to a third round selection if the Vikings reach the NFC Championship Game.
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The Eagles didn’t have a first round pick next year having traded it for Wentz.
