Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
By most accounts, Chip Kelly is a very smart man. The head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles would probably not be in the position he is today without making a lot of good decisions.
Every once in awhile, though, smart men do very dumb things. One of Kelly’s most important decisions this offseason was apparently the wrong one. Quarterback Sam Bradford is making all of the throws in seven-on-seven drills, but the problem is the oversized knee brace holding up his left knee. He has not taken part in 11-on-11 drills so far. Bradford is saying all the right things, but he is not saying the thing Eagles fans needed to know, and that is that he will be ready for the opener.
Bradford is coming off his second torn ACL in two years, and the injury has likely taken as much of a mental toll as a physical one. Even when he takes the field, that left knee will have a bullseye on it.
As long as Bradford wears that knee brace, he will probably not be cleared to play against live competition, and therein Kelly’s biggest gamble and maybe biggest failure. If the Eagles have to start Mark Sanchez, as it looks like they will, they will not have improved on the most important position on the field. Therefore, the Eagles cannot be expected to contend for the NFL East title.
If that’s not bad enough, Kelly unloaded a perfectly healthy — and maybe just as good — quarterback in Nick Foles to acquire Bradford, and added a valuable No. 2 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
It doesn’t make any sense at all, particularly if you believe Kelly is a smart man. The only logical explanation is that Kelly got Bradford as a bargaining chip in a grand scheme to acquire Marcus Mariota in the draft, and the team he thought was all in, the Cleveland Browns, got cold feet at the last moment.
If that is true, Kelly is stuck with a guy who doesn’t look like he will take the field anytime soon — at least the way things look now.
Mike Gibson is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @papreps , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
