Barring any setbacks between now and September 14, Sam Bradford is going to be the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles when they take on the Atlanta Falcons to open the season.
Since being traded from the St. Louis Rams, Bradford has been unable to fully participate in any practices while recovering from the knee injury that knocked him out of the 2014 NFL season. However, he cleared the first major hurdle on Sunday by participating in 11-on-11 drills, according to Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Bradford reportedly took all the first-team snaps and finished the entire practice without any issues. He’s slated to be the starter on August 16 to open preseason and couldn’t be happier to be back on the field.
“It’s a big step,” Bradford said after practice. “It’s been almost a year since I’ve been on the field in full speed playing football. To go out there and play ball and know my knee can do it, I think it was a really big first step and first day today.”
Head coach Chip Kelly has been outspoken in his excitement towards his new quarterback all offseason. The Eagles see Bradford as a perfect fit in Kelly’s up-tempo offense, given his college success running a similar system with Oklahoma. Bradford’s specialty is timing and accuracy, which is paramount in the NFL, but even more so in this offense.
Berman notes the Eagles intend on pushing Bradford’s knee in the upcoming days to see how it responds. These upcoming days of testing are going to be key. If his knee flares up again, then there is a good chance it will be Mark Sanchez, not Bradford, starting the season behind center instead.
For the time being, however, both the Eagles and Bradford are operating under the assumption that he’s going to be there to start the season. And if he does stay healthy, Philadelphia’s offense has a chance to be far more explosive that it would be with Sanchez, who has some limitations as a passer.
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports