But not for long. They rightfully knew they were nothing more than a pretender with Shaun Hill at QB.
Advertisement
The Minnesota Vikings lost their starting quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater.
“Very rarely do you have a starting quarterback go down a week before the season”, Spielman explained.
“I think it goes back to when you look at the DGB trade”, Roseman said.
The Philadelphia Eagles planned to bring Carson Wentz along slowly despite making him the No.2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. The Browns may be Quarterback shopping in the NFL Draft pending on the performance of RG III this season. The Seattle Seahawks won games a year ago with nine undrafted starters in one game. With only two quarterbacks on the roster, Bradford will be given enough of the offense to function if Hill is injured.
Two years ago, Hill started the opener for the Rams after Bradford tore his ACL on August 23 against Cleveland. “I’m really excited, I can’t wait to get out there and get after it”.
Evans’ veteran contract was terminated after he was signed during training camp, but he was clearly going to be a backup.
While Theismann has some questions about Bradford, he said the Vikings made the best move possible considering their “desperate” circumstances. “But when you put all that together, we felt like that, in balancing today and the future, it was the right move for us”. We have a great relationship, we’ve spent a lot of time with each other.
Spielman still has eight picks next year and believes he can grow that to his usual goal of 10.
The Vikings also parted with a fourth-round draft pick in 2018 that can become a third-rounder or a second-rounder based on how they finish. Spielman has drafted nine first-rounders the past five years.
Bradford thinks familiarity can help smooth his transition.
The trade came on the heels of Teddy Bridgewater’s crushing injury, which landed him on the shelf for the entire season (and maybe beyond). He has yet to have his surgery. The 24-year-old made only one interception and never delivered on the big-play potential he showed after starring at Oklahoma State.
“When we talked [earlier Thursday], I said to Rick, ‘Rick, this is going to be a premium.’ It had to include their first-round pick in 2017, plus something else”.
When Bradford signed a contract to return to the Eagles in March, head coach Doug Pederson immediately anointed him the starter. The move was only possible after they released veteran center John Sullivan, freeing more than $5 million in salary cap space last week.
It could be a huge expense for a one-year rental.
The Broncos open the season Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers, whom they beat in Super Bowl 50.
“We weren’t looking to move Sam; we didn’t make any calls on Sam”, Roseman said.
The Eagles are expected to do worse without Sam Bradford.
The former No. 1 pick of the Rams expressed his sympathy for Bridgewater in an interview with Vikings.com. “Stave is likely to be added to the team”s practice squad by Monday.
The Vikings also cut German-born receiver Mortiz Bohringer, a sixth-round pick and seventh-round defensive end Stephen Weatherly.
For Bohringer, even that was an accomplishment. “If Carson [Wentz] plays, experience is a great teacher”.
Advertisement
Surveying his landscape and seeing the NFL’s best running back, Adrian Peterson, and the short shelf life he has left, as well as one of the league’s best defense, Spielman felt he couldn’t keep things in a holding pattern so he picked up the phone.
