According to ESPN’s Ed Werder, Minnesota will acquire quarterback Sam Bradford from the Philadelphia Eagles.
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While the move will reunite Bradford with running back Adrian Peterson (who he played with at the University of Oklahoma) and give the Vikings a quarterback in Bradford, who could possibly flourish in offensive coordinator Norv Turner’s system, one can’t help but wonder if Minnesota’s desperation got the best of them.
The Eagles were going nowhere this season, and that remains the case, but at least they added a first-round selection for the 2017 draft to be held in – you guessed it – Philadelphia. Sam Bradford was the number one; Chase Daniels was the number two. Carson Wentz, selected with the No. 2 overall pick, missed the last three preseason games after breaking his ribs. McLeod Bethel-Thompson is now the third quarterback on Philadelphia’s roster.
Bradford, a former Heisman Trophy victor at Oklahoma and first-overall selection of the 2010 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams, has 14,790 passing yards, 78 touchdown passes, 52 interceptions and an 81.0 passing rating in 63 games, but has been hampered by injuries throughout his career. The Vikings tight ends coach, though, is Pat Shurmur, who was Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator in 2015 and Bradford’s offensive coordinator in his rookie season with the Rams.
That’s a steep price to pay for a quarterback like Bradford, of course, but it underscores how highly the Vikings think of their current team. The rest of his contract – $20 million in base salaries and $4 million March 2017 roster bonus – would go to the Vikings.
Bradford started 14 games for the Eagles last season, finishing with 3,725 yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while completing 65 percent of his passes.
The Eagles were 7-9 last season and would have been in a rebuilding mode in a division other than the diluted NFC East.
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“Balancing today and the future, it was the right move for us”, Roseman said.
