Sam Bradford Is Foolish To Demand Trade From Philadelphia Eagles

After he set a career high with 3,725 passing yards and completed a career-best 65 percent of his passes for them last season, the Philadelphia Eagles brought Sam Bradford back on a two-year, $36 million deal with $26 million guaranteed. They of course followed that up by signing Chase Daniel to a three-year deal with $12 million guaranteed, and then made a trade last week to secure the No. 2 overall pick in this week’s draft.

That trade up for the second overall pick appears to have been the last straw for Bradford, with immediate reports that he was unhappy with that move and would demand a trade. Now, ESPN’s Adam Schefter has added another element to the story.

Eagles have been informed Sam Bradford wants to be traded and he will not be showing up for their off-season program any longer, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 25, 2016

If he follows through on not showing up for any more offseason work, Bradford appears to think he has some leverage to demand a trade. But the Eagles were the only team known to be willing to pay him what they did back in early March, and they didn’t even let him hit free agency officially. So Bradford has no leverage to demand anything, and the ball is completely in the Eagles’ court if they are willing to pay him to be a backup. For what it’s worth, and it’s surely a tentative commitment, the team has said Bradford will be their 2016 starting quarterback.

The greater red flag, if only for the Eagles, is Bradford shying away from competing for the starting job with a highly-touted rookie. That’s even funnier considering Bradford himself was once a highly-regarded rookie, as the No. 1 overall pick in 2010, and he was the last No. 1 pick to get a huge contract before a new CBA created a different piece of the salary pie for first-round picks.

Bradford has made a ton of money to be an injury-prone underachiever, with a 25-37-1 record as a starter in his career. There are a few teams possibly still in the market for a veteran quarterback, so a trade partner could possibly be found. But the Eagles are better off to call Bradford’s bluff about not showing up for the remainder of OTAs, which has no teeth anyway, even if drama would come at the start of training camp.

Leaving aside money considerations, and assuming the Eagles end up taking Carson Wentz with the second overall pick, Bradford’s clearest path to a starting job is in Philadelphia. I’m guessing he’ll see that light at some point, even if it means holding a clipboard and collecting inflated game checks come September.