Tuesday, April 26, 2016

The Downfall of Sam Bradford



Jack Merlino



The 2016 NFL draft is upon us, and the Philadelphia Eagles find themselves at the heart of the latest league gossip. And at the heart of that heart is Sam Bradford, whose agent has gone public with his client's displeasure at the situation he's in. Let's review the timeline.


January 18: Doug Pederson is hired as the Philadelphia Eagles' new head coach.

February 19: Pederson discusses how the Eagles want to approach finding their first franchise QB since Donovan McNabb donned midnight green, "No. 1, it’s the hardest position to really evaluate, because you’re looking for your next franchise guy and there’s a lot of guys in the draft, fourth round on, who will probably become a decent back-up for you, you know?"

March 1: Sam Bradford signs a 2-year, $36 million contract, $26mil of which is guaranteed.

April 20: The Eagles complete a trade with the Cleveland Browns to move up to the #2 overall pick in the draft. This completed a move of 11 spots from the Eagles' original draft position, #13. When addressing the media, GM Howie Roseman states that "Sam Bradford is [the] starting quarterback." Later that day, a report by Adam Schefter says that Sam Bradford is "uspet" with the trade.

April 21: Conflicting reports emerge about whether or not Sam Bradford is/will be requesting a trade. Ultimately, the He-Wants-Out rumors grow dominant.

April 25: Tom Condon, Bradford's agent, comes on SiriusXM NFL Radio and claims that his client is upset with his situation and doesn't want to be a 'stop-gap' QB, but rather sees himself as a long-term solution for a franchise. Philadelphia does a collective spit-take.

So here's the condensed version: Pederson comes here and says he wants to find a franchise quarterback. Bradford signs a 2-year deal. The Eagles trade up to have a better shot at finding their franchise QB in the draft. Bradford makes a frowny face.

Reuben Frank from CSNPhilly.com said it best: "...I don’t want a guy who runs at the first sign of a challenge. Who even when a truckload of money and a starting job are promised to him, still wants out." Philadelphia-favorite Stephen A. Smith echoed that sentiment.

Poor Sam. It's hard to feel bad for a man who's making more money this year than most people will in their life but has as many playoff runs (and by extension wins), superbowl rings, and pro-bowl appearances as I do (which is unfortunately zero; I am a terrible disappointment).

Now, Sam Bradford (or his agent, at least, who is almost certainly just acting as Bradford's mouthpiece) has pretty much talked his way off this team. He's certainly lost the Philadelphia fanbase, which means that as long as he's playing here, he won't know if he's at a home or away game for the amount of boo's that would surely be constantly bombarding him.

Take your pick on why he should be jettisoned to whoever will pay a non-insulting price for him. He's a coward for looking over his shoulder at someone who isn't even on the team yet? Being a bad teammate to the people he's already played with? An unearned sense of entitlement?

All valid arguments.

So long, Sam Bradford. Maybe you can be the best fantasy QB in the league someplace else.

CREDIT to CSNPhilly, ESPN, Reuben Frank, Adam Schefter, Stephen A. Smith, and Dave Zangaro for quotes & helping put the timeline together.

To stay up to date with the latest from 30 Minutes of Madness, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook. For more thoughts and articles from this writer, follow Jack Merlino on Twitter.
To stay up to date with the latest from 30 Minutes of Madness, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

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