Philadelphia Eagles Rumors: Sam Bradford Likely To Ask For Trade, May Take Pay Cut To Find A New Team
The Philadelphia Eagles may be putting Sam Bradford on the trading block soon, with reports that their $36 million quarterback is asking to be moved to a new team after the Eagles jumped up in the draft to find his eventual replacement.
On Wednesday, the Eagles announced a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Browns, allowing Philadelphia to move up to the No. 2 spot in the draft in exchange for a bevy of picks including next year’s first and second rounders. Rumors indicate that the Philadelphia Eagles will take one of the top two quarterbacks — likely Carson Wentz after the Los Angeles Rams take Jared Goff at No. 1.
The move isn’t sitting well with Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, who just last month signed a two-year, $36 million contract. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report reported on Thursday that Bradford is likely going to demand a trade so that he can move on with a team “that is going to be invested in him long-term.”
“The question for Bradford is whether he’s willing to take some kind of pay cut to make that happen. He has $11 million he’s been paid already by the Philadelphia Eagles as part of the two-year deal that he signed before the start of free agency.”
Bradford hasn’t addressed the rumors publicly, and on Thursday attended the team’s practice.
#Eagles to Sam Bradford: You're the starter – for now. How will he react? More: https://t.co/nYf9vBTmQN
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) April 21, 2016
Sam Bradford at #Eagles practice today (via @Eagles) pic.twitter.com/LYkO33odpo
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) April 21, 2016
The trade request came just one day after Bradford reportedly met with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, top team executive Howie Roseman, and coach Doug Pederson. At the meeting, Bradford got assurances that he would be the team’s starting quarterback going into the 2016 season.
“Let me be clear. Sam Bradford is our starting quarterback,” Roseman said (via Philly.com). “We’ve told Sam that. We intend to support him, and the moves we made this offseason we believe will give us the chance to compete this season.”
At the time, Roseman also noted that Sam Bradford was handling the situation like a professional. Though he didn’t comment on the team’s trade, Bradford had spoken the day before about the possibility that the Eagles look for another quarterback in the draft.
“If it happens, it’s something I’ll deal with when it happens,” Bradford said. “But if it doesn’t happen, there’s really no sense in wasting time or thought or energy on that.”
The Philly.com report noted that the Eagles likely plan to have Bradford as their starter this year, allowing Wentz to ease his way into the league. If Bradford plays well, the Philadelphia Eagles could use him as trade bait after the season and get back some of the draft picks they gave up for the No. 2 spot.
But Bradford’s trade demand could complicate that, forcing the Eagles to either forge ahead with an unhappy quarterback or take a lesser return just weeks after locking him down at $18 million a season. It is also unclear just how much a market Bradford would have, with a musical chairs of quarterbacks this offseason that found many teams already addressing their needs.
The potential trade could also force the Philadelphia Eagles to move Carson Wentz into the starting role immediately, a situation they had obviously hoped to avoid. The Eagles had already signed promising backup Chase Daniel this offseason as well, and if Bradford is gone the team might end up opening training camp for a competition between the two for the starting job.
[Picture by Elsa/Getty Images]
