The value difference between Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Bradford is hard to determine, but Bradford brings experience and a leadership role to the Vikings that would have needed an NFL QB if they wanted to stay competitive this year.
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The Eagles gave up several assets to trade up to the No. 2 overall selection in the 2016 National Football League draft for the opportunity to pick Wentz.
Bradford will work with a sixth offensive coordinator in the person of Norv Turner, in seven seasons.
The Vikings won the championship of the North Division of the National Association previous year, and the acquisition of Bradford means they believe can fight for the title again. The move was only possible after they released veteran center John Sullivan, freeing more than $5 million in salary cap space last week.
Upon looking at Bradford, though, Spielman believed there were several reasons to make a deal. The rest of his contract – $20 million in base salaries and $4 million March 2017 roster bonus – would go to the Vikings.
In five seasons, Bradford has completed 60.1 percent of his passes for 78 touchdowns and 52 interceptions. The Rams traded Bradford to the Eagles during the 2015 offseason, and he set team records for completions and completion percentage last season.
In Minnesota, Bradford will be reunited with his former offensive coordinator in St. Louis and Philadelphia, Pat Shurmur, who is the Vikings’ tight ends coach. The Philadelphia Eagles traded starting quarterback Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday. Bradford was a Heisman trophy winning first overall pick that was supposed to be the next great quarterback, and it never happened.
Saturday, the Eagles traded their starting quarterback, Bradford, to Minnesota. Trading Bradford at this point didn’t seem realistic to Bradford because of what he felt the quarterback meant to the Eagles. “Stave is likely to be added to the team”s practice squad by Monday.
For a player of Bradford’s caliber in Bradford’s situation, the return probably goes beyond “significant”.
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 fumbled 10 times, losing three.
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Several reports indicate that rookie Wentz, the quarterback the Eagles traded up to second overall to draft, will start the September 11 opener against Cleveland, the team that traded the Eagles the pick they used to draft him (and the team that holds the Birds’ top pick in 2017). Wentz drew comparisons with Jaguars franchise quarterback Blake Bortles heading into the 2016 NFL Draft, but was expected to need at least a season to adjust from North Dakota State to the NFL.
