Sammy’s Back
Posted: March 1st, 2016 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 271 Comments »Sam Bradf0rd will return as the Eagles starting QB. He got a 2-year deal for $36M. Here are some details.
Some details on Bradford/Eagles deal: of $26M total guarantee, $22M fully guaranteed upon signing. $18M in 2016, up to $20M w/playoff wins.
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) March 1, 2016
Bradford details continued: $11M signing bonus, $7M salary in 2016. $4M of 2017 salary fully guaranteed, another $4M guaranteed for injury.
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) March 1, 2016
Bradford gets fully secured $22M, $2M more than Tag w/playoff upside. Eagles get 2nd year option with $4M risk, another $4M if major injury.
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) March 2, 2016
I think this is smart for both sides. Clearly there wasn’t a robust market for Bradford. He didn’t have a ton of options. He could have gone to free agency and taken a chance that someone might have paid him more. The Eagles could have tried to go super-cheap on him, but that could have backfired.
In the end, the Eagles get a solid veteran QB for the next year or two. Bradford makes good money and has a chance to hit free agency in a year or two.
This is a band-aid for both sides. It gives the Eagles a chance to find a young QB. It gives Bradford a chance to play better and boost his value. There is the possibility that he could flourish under Doug Pederson and that could change things entirely.
Bradford is a mystery.
His detractors will tell you he stunk in St. Louis and wasn’t much better in Philly. Bradford did struggle with the Rams. That offense has been dysfunctional for almost a decade. The last time the Rams were Top 10 in points or yards was 2006. They have had different coaches, coordinators, QBs, OL, WRs and RBs. Nothing has worked. Those struggles don’t excuse Bradford’s play, but it does point to the fact you have to keep his time in St. Louis in context.
As to last year, Bradford didn’t play well early on. He did play well in the final 7 games. Not great, but he did play well. The hope is that Bradford can build on that performance. He will have a new head coach and offensive system, but will once again be playing for an offensive-minded head coach. He will have some talented skill players to work with. He could have a good O-line, if the Eagles can solve LG and improve their depth.
Stability has been an issue to this point in Bradford’s career. He had a different leading receiver from 2010-2013. None of them were top flight targets that you want to feed the ball to. He had different offensive coordinators from 2010-2012. Even worse, they were very different from each other.
While Bradford will play in a new offense, the passing game under Chip Kelly was heavily influenced by Pat Shurmur. The new coach is Doug Pederson. Both Shurmur and Pederson are products of the Andy Reid WCO. That doesn’t mean the offenses will be the same. But they will at least be distant relatives. Obviously the run game should be very different, but that’s more important for the RBs than the QB.
I think Bradford could play well in the new system. Pederson wants to give the QB a lot of flexibility at the line. You saw in Week 17 that Bradford was good at making adjustments at the line. As the year went on, Kelly let Bradford use his hard count more often and that became effective at drawing the other team off. Bradford did evolve. He was not the same player on New Year’s Day that he was on Labor Day. He didn’t make some grand transformation, but he did improve. For the first time in his career, he played in an aggressive offensive system and got good coaching.
While I see reasons for optimism, there are no guarantees. Bradford could flat-line and prove to be a guy who is going to post an 85 QB rating and leave you scratching your head as to how he was ever drafted first overall.
The Eagles needed someone to start in 2016. I think paying Bradford and bringing him back was the smart way to go. There weren’t going to be great options in the free agent market. You can argue that they should have gone the cheap route and brought in someone like Chase Daniel. That would have made some sense, but the Eagles think Bradford is a better player and can help the team compete.
I think bringing him back is also valuable for the continued development of the skill players. Zach Ertz, Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor and Josh Huff need a quality, reliable QB to get them the ball. Bradford and Ertz really developed a good chemistry last year.
The fact the Eagles only signed Bradford for 2 years tells you that they intend on drafting a QB. They could land one of the big three (Wentz, Goff, Lynch) or target someone after that. You never know who a team will fall in love with. Back in 2012, the Seahawks wanted Russell Wilson. They waited until the 3rd round to take him, but that was the guy they really wanted.
Bringing back Bradford isn’t a great move because he’s not a great player and doesn’t really solve anything in a definitive way. That said, it was the smart move to make. The team now has a veteran QB in place and that gives them freedom to pursue the QB they want in the draft.
I do like the fact the Eagles are keeping players around and building. There is something to be said for getting outside help, but I think there is real value in continuity and dealing with the devil you know rather than the devil you don’t.
I think Howie Roseman played the Bradford situation well. If he can find the Eagles a long term answer at QB, I’ll buy him a PBR and split a bag of Funyuns with him.
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[…] Tommy Lawlor Sam Bradf0rd will return as the Eagles starting QB. He got a 2-year deal for $36M. Here are some […]
Reposted from the previous thread because I think it’s worth considering. I’m intentionally trying to leave the question as open ended as possible.
Meta thought of the night:
Is the devil we know better than the devil we don’t know?
In this case, yes, because we’ve only traded our soul for two years, not eternity. If year one goes well, we learn we have a solid devil and the team is relevant right away, especially in light of the dump that is the NFC East. Besides, there’s no franchise qb on the horizon right now.
If year one doesn’t go well, the team has enough time to arrange to get rid of the devil and bring in the future qb.
Meh. I don’t think Sam is good enough to warrant not trying to find a better option. I mean there are probably 20-25 QBS every team in the NFL would take over Sam right now.
True, but all those guys are under contract. How many free agent QBs are better than Bradford. Sure, I’m partial to Charlie Whitehurst, but most people would put Bradford at the top of the available QB list.
Sometimes it is time to move on… in this case and importantly at this price, I think it gives the team great flexibility in the draft to go get BPA instead of feeling the need to push a QB decision.
Wait, I can’t have both?
The main selling point about drafting an unknown seemed to be that there was no long-term pain associated with it. Get a guy, or two or three, find out what you have, rinse and repeat. Since the deal with Bradford has no long-term commitment associated with it, I don’t think there is any reason that those plans need to change.
You can have as many devils as your salary cap will allow.
When the devil you know potentially prevents you to re-sign Thurmond and get much-needed help on the OL, I’d say clearly not.
I know a first time head coach would not like going into the season with a (s)crap FA QB + a drafted QB to grow, that was the best option given what could be done with the money saved. Bradford was the safe, uninspiring choice. One that limits your chances to get fired after/during your first year(but clearly impact your longer roster quality).
I think that’s a fair assessment of the situation. Then I recall the difference between the defense I saw take the field with Bradford at the helm vs. Sanchez at the helm. For some reason, this team seems to have faith in Bradford, and at this price, I think he *might* be worth it.
If I have an old car, I know what it’s issues are and how to work around them. If I go replace it with another old car I might be surprised by some of the new problems I encounter. I think this decision comes down to this factor: can the Eagles survive and win games with Bradford’s flaws or are his flaws so bad that tossing him aside and starting with an almost complete unknown gives us a better chance.
We know what Roseman/Pederson/Lurie thought, and I think the players are thinking the same thing. I think it’s fair as a fan though to not be thrilled with the buy in.
Very unlikely that Peterson gets fired year one even if they tank. No reason Birds don’t go after a QB this draft and next. If SB stinks, is mediocre, or is injured, they get Lynch this year, play him next year, and draft next man up.
Smart deal for both sides. He isn’t going to see that 2017 money. This year will determine whether the release him or restructure him. I hope they take lynch actually. Now that he can sit for a year and learn from 3 former NFL QB’s he may have a chance. I don’t think he would have survived if he had to start day 1, but since he could now sit maybe he will develop into something special.
Wouldnt mind it, at this point Lynch is the only viable option, as its looking like Wentz and Goff will be gone when it comes to 13. Do we have the firepower to move up? Not unless we trade away picks in future years me thinks.
https://twitter.com/JoeBanner13/status/704891804475379712
what is?
https://twitter.com/JoeBanner13/status/704892508392853506
“Bringing back Bradford isn’t a great move because he’s not a great player and doesn’t really solve anything in a definitive way. That said, it was the smart move to make. The team now has a veteran QB in place and that gives them freedom to pursue the QB they want in the draft.”
….
So Tommy you are essentially saying that Bradford is a below average QB but he was the Eagles best option this year. Hopefully most people realize Bradford is nothing more then a below mediocre QB and the Eagles could of paid a bridge QB less money to do the same thing.
I think you are making a leap when you interpet “not a great player” as saying “below average.”
There are 2? 3? Maybe 5? great QBs at a given point in time. Meanwhile, half of them are above average.
I’ll disagree here with “do the same thing”. According to you, they Eagles can hire the water boy to be QB because this most likely is a 1 year stint.
….
I think the Eagles had to either solve the long term QB with a FA(there were none worth it unless Osw was worth a look) or keep continuity. Pay a lesser QB — what 10 mil? — to come in and learn everything all over again – for 1 year. That wouldn’t send the proper message to the WR’s/offense(and hold the offense development back). 1 year with the same QB(even though not future) is > 1 year with some scrub — that makes it worth the money…
I really think the developmental point is one that many overlook. If you’ve got Chase Daniels or Sanchez as QB, your WRs are probably not going to develop much during the year because those guys can’t/won’t throw certain routes at all, especially things where the ball is in the air more than 10 yards. You can argue that they’re professionals, etc., but if you know that your post pattern has a 0.1% chance of being thrown to when you nail the route and get wide open, how hard do you expect that WR to work on the details of the pattern in week 9 of the season?
Sam’s no superstar, (or even star) but he’s going to do the least damage to the development of their young WRs out of the reasonably available options.
The WRs spent a full year with Bradford in 2015.
Was there any development?
Or is that Bicknell’s fault?
And now with a new WRs coach, if the WRs show improvement we’re going to say it’s Bradford?
If you read my conclusion, you’ll see I’m not predicting he will help develop them, I’m merely predicting he’ll do the least damage out of the realistic options.
It’s hard to base any predictions off of the offense Kelly ran for most of 2015. It was very different from any NFL offense I have ever seen. Maybe that was solely because of Bradford’s limitations. But it doesn’t seem like the FO feels that way.
Agreed. I think anybody else that would come in for a year would disrupt that development…
“So Tommy you are essentially saying that Bradford is a below average QB but he was the Eagles best option this year.”
Mostly agree, but he’s a below average _starter_ not quarterback. He’s better than any backup. If you divide the starters into 3 levels, he’s probably in the 3rd level, but closer to #20 than #32.
This move is just the cherry on top of the offseason. They’re trying to win this year. Probably shooting for 9 games and hope to get lucky and get 10-11.
It’s not like we can tempt Trent Dilfer to come out of retirement.
Yes, but this assumes you want the car to run at all. Occasionally, it’s better that your car doesn’t run, then the NFL welfare system can gift you a chance to mess up the #1 pick. Wow, that’s some pretty horrid mixed metaphors.
Personally, I think that a stable coaching situation and time to develop are the most important things for a rookie qb. If the Eagles do land a qb at 13 or in the third, he will have roughly 3 off seasons to become comfortable with the team/coaches and vise versa. The bottom line is there is plenty of talent in the draft but sometimes the players lack the right situation. Hopefully with Bradford as the starter a guy like Lynch can get comfortable and just sit back and learn for a few years, then be able to come out and compete.
Really thinking they may like Lynch and that is their plan to have him sit and learn. Doug said as much just don’t know who they like
His stats would have been a lot better without all those dropped passes. I expect Greg Lewis to fix that.
How? Greg Lewis isn’t walking in that door, man.
No, but Robert Parish is.
That’s one hell of a delusional expectation. When did Greg Lewis become some kind of WR whisperer that can take a guy like Jordan Matthews who has had bad hands his entire career and reveal to him the secret of catching that no other coach has been able to impart to him?
Welcome to the warm comfort of offseason fandom.
What would he have to do to get the whole bag of Funyuns?
Show up in a limo with Megan Fox.
With chocolate pudding.
…..
Wise man
In 2010, he was in high school?
Not a leader.
Minnesota isn’t as hardcore Vikings as you would think.
I grew up 30 minutes outside the twin cities and it’s probably 60% Vikings 20% Packers and 20% Broncos, Chiefs, random
I’d imagine the Dakotas are probably pretty similar.
Wait, the guy busting on my log home/Davey Crockett/Daniel Booneness comes from the land of sod homes, lakes, and pine trees?
Sorry, but it’s no deal until you are willing to share Megan Fox.
I’m really happy this is settled for the short term so we can move on to working with some other roster elements.
We really need to get that O-line fixed first.
So for all intents and purposes we’ve got Bradford signed on a one year deal with a cap hit of $12.5mil this year. Year two is basically fictional. No way he plays out the last year of that deal with a cap hit of $24M. Either he proves he’s good enough to deserve that money this year and gets extended lowering that cap hit or we cut him at a cost of $5.5M dead money ($9.5 minus the offset of $4M assuming he’d sign for at least that with another team regardless of performance this year).
Not bad at all!
Upvote for “all intents and purposes” instead of the fingernails-on-chalkboard mistake of “all intensive purposes.”
Right up there with the other common mistake of “i could care less”
Howies got the most intensive purposes though
Please tell me no one says that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc
I usually go with intensive porpoises.
We need to raise awareness of how dangerous they are.
The franchise tag for QBs is currently around 20 million and the cap is going up, right? A cap hit of 24 million next year will probably not be far from the cost of a franchise tag and there were plenty of people who thought the franchise tag was a realistic option this year. So I don’t think it’s a given at all that year 2 of the deal is fictional.
The point being that if he plays well enough to warrant franchise tag type money they will extend him. They won’t let this go to FA again.
You assume a very pliable Sam Bradford, which is in no way a given. If Bradford has a good year he’s going to want a contract that makes him the highest paid QB in the league.
If his play is worth that much money that’s a great problem to have and Howie will extend him at fair market value. If his play doesn’t warrant that money they will cut/trade him. If the Eagles want to extend Bradford after this year and he refuses to extend his deal, they will cut or trade him. The one thing they will not do is let him play out the last year of his deal with a $23.5M cap hit. You can take that statement to the bank.
So as you can see, Bradford’s “pliability” has no barring on my statement that Bradford won’t play out that deal. He might use it as leverage to increase the amount of guaranteed money that he gets in a long term deal or as leverage to get out of Philly, but there’s no sense in keeping a QB that doesn’t want to sign long term on a one year $23.5M deal, unless it’s some sort of foregone conclusion that the Eagles are odds on favorites to win the Super Bowl with Sam in 2017. Otherwise, what is the point? If you try to franchise him in 2018 after paying him $23.5 in 2017, you’re looking at a cap hit of $26M+.
So, he will either be extended or cut/traded after this year, regardless of what he wants. He can’t force the Eagles to keep him next year just because he’s not pliable.
When you arent completely sold on a guy mainting total flexibility is the best course of action. this deal accomplishes that. It allows us to spend another year gathering more info on SAM next year before we have to make a decision on comitting to SAM.. It allows us to not draft out of desperation, and it puts us in the hunt for the division this year.. Great deal. Once again Roseman proves he won’t hand out deals that will cripple our cap..
..
Feels great to get this out of the way and be at peace with the rest of this offseason.
.
Hopefully Sanchez gets cut, and Nolan signs a 1 or 2yr deal..
and Cox 🙂 … nice to be at peace with the qb for now…FA here we come…I was hoping the Rams didn’t tag that CB…
Cox doesn’t concern me, he isn’t going anywhere. Chip is gone, so Eagles are no longer in the business of getting rid of our best players.. Cox will be here, how they go about ensuring that doesn’t concern me..
..
You aren’t getting an expensive FA corner, so what does it matter what the Rams do? safety is the greatest Need, since OL can be solidified via the Draft…
.
Sigń Nolan
Renegotiate Sproles to free up an extra mil or so of Cap space
Cut Sanchez
Trade Taylor Hart to San Fran
Sigń a starting safety
Build the OL via the draft
Draft a LB, DT, CB and invest the rest of the picks on OL and QB
There is a video of Zack Ertz girlfriend or should I say Zacks Fiancé, schooling ERTZ, Kiko and some other football players in soccer out in Cali…. Hopefully Kiko’s legs are feeling great these days if he is running around playing soccer…
“Some of the best FA deals are good players coming off a down year, and the worst deals are bad playërs coming off great years in a contract year”- Banner
.l
Banner and Roseman have their flaws, but they would have NEVER allowed a good youmg player like Alshon Jeffries to get to the point where they have to franchise him. They would have extended him like two years ago… Amazing that teams are still making this mistake
I don’t understand all the, “meh, it was an ok signing,” or “WHAT A TERRIBLE SIGNING.” What else were the Eagles supposed to do? Is there a qb in the draft at 13 or anywhere frankly that can start day 1 with a possibly shaky OL? Is there a gem like CHASE DANIELS out there that could come in? I think there is enough talent to contend for something this year and Sam gives you a decent chance to do so. He gives a cushion for the young qb the Eagles with draft to learn. In the end was it really that big of a deal in terms of money? Even if it was, the Eagles are only tied down for 1 year. I think this provides a good amount of flexibility to allow the team to play out instead of trying to force something at qb, which leads to spoiled draft prospects.
Well, they could have stuck with Sanchez, done a Sam Hinke special for a year, and drafted a QB next year. I’m not saying that’s what I would have recommended, but it is a different course of action that could have been taken.
The NFL draft is weighted for a reason. It’s supposed to give less talented teams a chance to compete in the future. If it turns out that Bradford is just a 2 year stop gap that wins the team a few extra games without challenging for a playoff spot then this might turn out to be 2 years of keeping the team out of contention for a top QB in the draft.
There is always talent available and in my post below I would rather grab a guy who had slightly “less talent” a few draft picks down while he can sit and learn as opposed to getting a guy a few draft spots higher with slightly “more talent” but making his start early. I think the situation now is set up perfectly for a young qb to come in while there is still time on his side. What if the qb talent is even worse next year? There is no guarantees.
In this year’s draft, there seems to be a pretty large gap between the top two QBs and the third guy. Your argument sounds good in the abstract, but not so much when you put it in real world terms like Carson Wentz vs. Paxton Lynch.
Is there though? I’m not really sure, each guy has strengths and weaknesses. I’m not sure there is a HUGE gap. There might be but if that is the thought see if you can trade up and get Wentz or whatever. I just want a qb in the draft this year to develop.
Agree 100%. You can even go with a 3rd rounder, like Hack or Hogan, and even though neither one (or any taken) will be another GoffWentzLynch right now, with two years of learning? This is the best way to set yourself up for success in the short future. I likey.
Lombardo had a good point on Twitter. If Sam had gone into free agency and signed with another team for two years that was really only one year with a 12.5M cap hit for the season, many people would be furious with Howie and the Eagles for being cheap and throwing a way a season. I wonder how many of those people are the same ones that are furious now.
https://twitter.com/MattLombardo975/status/705031473322192896
I don’t really understand the anger. It’s a good compromise for both sides and doesn’t lock the Eagles or Bradford into anything beyond this year. It also doesn’t do a lot of damage in terms of the cap. The Eagles are now in a position to not reach for anything and if they can pick up a FA guard, they can go BPA through the draft.
You just can’t please people…especially Eagles fans.
I don’t really like Bradford at all and I’m fine with this deal.
Now that this is done, can we cut finally Sanchez?
Free up a roster spot for RG3?
Manziel
isnt clipboard jesus available?
Yes, as a matter of fact he is!
Make it happen Howie!!!!
THREE HEADED MONSTER!!!!
Get that jabroni out of here.
follow up question: if the Eagles cut Sanchez does he get the top spot on the “available FA quarterbacks” list?
Personally, I think I would feel better about my fictitious, QBless team signing Osweiler, Fitz, or possibly RG3 than I would about them signing Sanchez to be the starter.
I’m looking for some cap space analysis. With Bradford signed, it brought the cap to around 18 mil if I’m not mistaken. The Eagles are going to need to sign a starting safety since I don’t think they will be in a position to draft one. They will probably need to sign at least one starting guard and finally get big Cox under contract. I’m not very good with Cap numbers but in terms of feasibility where does this rate?
Cox’s current cap hit is $8 mil. I’d guess year 1 of the new deal would be somewhere around $11-12 year 1 cap hit. Figure 2-3 mil for depth improvements (their cap hit – player they replace on 51 won’t be huge).
that leaves you somehwere between 11-13 in cap space to sign a starting G and S. And that’s before you clear any other room.
So we can’t ball out, but we can make a few prudent signings and churn the scrap heap a bit.
need about $5mil to sign draft picks as well.
Not really. Cap hit of pick 13 is a hair over $2 mil
Everybody after that will be similar or less than someone currently on the 51.
that’s the beauty of no second round pick!
Even second round picks don’t really change cap situation. Eric Rowe’s cap hit last year was less than $1 million. You’re talking maybe a couple hundred thousand in replacing someone on the 51.
So, theoretically, Iloka isn’t out of reach then.
Correct. They don’t have money for a Maxwell style signing, but they can make a couple Barwin and Jenkins style signings.
I think if Illoka goes for any less than 7mil AAV the Eagles will have strong interest.
Nice, thanks.
First year cap hit on Cox could really look almost anyway Howie wanted it to though, right? I doubt Howie would drop it too low, because then you end up with a Joe Flacco situation… jussss sayin!
We got the best QB in the market, what is there to complain about?
We’re Eagles fans, there’s always something to complain about.
One thing we can’t complain about, though, is that qb1 is established.
Hopefully Sam and the wide receivers will spend time off-season and pre-season rgetting synched-up.
We are relying on a QB that had a very real shot to get to the FA market…. I think that is the concern.
What was the better possible outcome for this off-season, in that regard?
I’m mostly commenting on the question here. Being the best FA QB is not generally a huge endoresmemt. Good QBs don’t get anywhere near FA generally. Is he the best option available, maybe. In the big pictute, is that meaningful, probably not if the goal is a Superbowl or even a playoff run.
Tallest midget’s what to complain about, mang!
Sam Bradford highlight reel!
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/videos/videos/Eagles-Highlights-Sam-Bradford/6721984f-4f0d-4845-8890-6ed49405616f
It’s pretty short, but if you watch it 3 times in a row and pretend it’s one season then he looks pretty f’n awesome.
LOL wow, thats actually pretty sad how little “highlights” there were. jebus…
…The Packers highlights are from preseason.
those were the days…
Odd contract, you don’t normally see 2 year show me deals with that kind of money, but I like that it keeps the option open to draft/bring in other FAs.
I don’t know about that. When the team negotiating with the QB is attempting to keep him the franchise number for QB has to be the starting point for negotiations. If the team REALLY wants them they are stuck at that number, so it is the logical place to at least begin negotiations.
Damn. Giants are hot for Tashaun Gipson.
Yea that sucks. Would really like to see a pairing of him and Jenkins.
What’s better . . .
To sign Gipson to play S.
Or to sign Janoris Jenkins to play CB — with Rowe moving to S.
I would really like to see what Rowe has to offer at CB. H
In that scenario AC I would go with signing Janoris and moving Rowe to safety full time. It would give the Eagles a very good cornerback in Jenkins and Rowe could move to Malcom’s spot at safety where he can come down and cover slot receivers and leave Malcom to roam center field. That would be very good safety play with 2 safeties with both corner and safety experience. Ugh why did you put that idea in my head, I am not salivating for that to happen lol. Excellent idea by the way.
Anyone have a backstreet song run through their head when reading the title? No? Just me? OK then.
I got “The Boys are Back in Town,” by Thin Lizzy.
Anyone out there gotta little Irish in ya? Any of you fine ladies out there wanna little more Irish in ya?
No, but I just want to thank the community for resisting the urge to post a YouTube clip. And remember, Google catalogs all of your searches. The list is uploaded to St. Peter’s scroll.
the article title got me nervous. I thought just his knees were the problem
Who gives out contracts that allow the player to void the final three years?
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/705086292502007808
I didn’t even know this was possible. I would love to have Mack since Kelce has been not healthy and inconsistent.
ATG:
I think Mack’s contract was actually crafted by the Jaguars in 2014, when the Browns used the transition tag on him. Cleveland matched JAX’s offer.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/alex-mack-offer-sheet-brings-cleveland-s-transition-tag-gamble-into-question-232746321.html
Hunh. I thought that was rhetorical when I wrote it. Impressive.
Still, how does a team plan when one of the key components of their OL could become a FA in any of the next 4 years? And a 5-year deal he can void to 2 years means they had one season of stability. That is atrocious.
becoming popular in baseball
Not just one… Mitchell Schwartz may be even more inclined to leave with this news.
And they shopped Joe Thomas this year.
Yikes. It’s always dreary in Cleveland
Player options aren’t all that uncommon are they? Certainly not the norm, but they have happened quite a bit.
I don’t think they are all that common, and I have never heard of more than a year.
The Browns. I feel like the Browns probably have to do a lot of risky or debasing things to try and persuade players or coaches to come there.
Wave an extra 5 million in their face and it’s pretty much a done deal
Can we release Kelce and sign Mack immediately?
Too much dead money. We’ll have to make him a FB.
dude kelce as a fb would be wild. although hed be way too expensive
You could send I’m in motion to the slot and it would be like having Riley Cooper in there!
Mack’s 31 in November.
Wow really? Didn’t realize he was already 30, good call. I retract my previous statement. I’d rather risk Kelce rebounding from a down year then sign an over 30 center.
The Jags.
Happened when he was on transition tag a few years back. Jags intentionally made it a fuck you contract since it became obvious the Browns would match.
Offseason eyebrow surgery should be a top priority now that we’ve locked up Bradford for a couple years. I imagine his field vision and accuracy will go up once that’s taken care of.
yeah? what do you look like?
Something between Rock Hudson and Sylvester Stallone. Hope this is taken as good natured rather than malicious or mocking.
me too. i ‘ve got stallone’s face and hudson’s muscles. yeah i was trying to play around back. hope it came off like that
Since we’re playing that game, I’ve got Brad Pitt’s abs in Fight Club, Zac Efrons boyishly charming face before the drugs got him, and the swaggering macho demeanor of Vin Diesel in pick your Fast and Furious movie.
Oh and I’m really sensitive too, at heart, underneath the brooding macho exterior. Ladies take note.
some chicks prefer post-drugs efron
The post-drugs efron as a person or just his face? We’re chopping people up here into their parts to franktenstein together the ultimate man, so we need to be clear which part of poor little Efron we’re borrowing.
i was thinking his circulatory system and maybe eyebrows, trent cole’s high motor, and Goff’s baby hands
That’s a good one. Ladies I have the circulatory system of Usain Bolt. High functioning circulatory systems should be attractive based on evolutionary perspectives of reproduction right?
i’m still trying to figure out how to argue that short men with beer guts should be held up as the new standard of beauty.
Start with the fashion moguls and other trendsetters.
I hate that show.
Like this?
http://oneguyrambling.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/stallone-2304978.jpg
That’s a bad picture. Once I found out Sammy was part Cherokee, I’ve been looking at other pics of him and I think you can really see it in his features.
This makes me happy. This is perfect. Better than I anticipated could happen. I figured the options would be long term or franchise tag.
The threat of FA was to great for both sides and they made this work. I have said a few times that if it happened before FA both sides could argue they were the winner. Think that is 100% true now.
This holds true to my Seattle type preferred method of finding a QB. Devote resources to guys so that you have them, but not so much that you can’t devote more to other possible options. Conceivably the Eagles can sign a guy early, cut Sanchez and sign another veteran that isn’t exactly dirt cheap. Then they have 3 possible options in house right now.
Happy Happy Happy.
Yes please.
https://twitter.com/BrandonGowton/status/705092123633307648
Get him, and I will be content to draft OL with every pick except for a QB somewhere along the way.
How about 3 OL ?
Been saying all along if Eric Berry wasn’t an option then Gipson was the next best target. Totally agree with you with on the OL draft on every pick.
It always blows me away how the Browns have a good number of very good player, and yet manage to always be awful
Kinda like having a QB is important or something.
And the same coaching staff for more than 5 minutes.
F Haslem. He’s a terrible owner and his cousin is a case study in foolishness.
I guess it’s not called the Mistake on the Lake for nothing. River catching fire, Rock n Roll HOF deafening everybody. It’s all too much at once. Although I do like a the stuff referred to as Classic Rock.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AC41dglnM
That statement of fact sort of depresses me…thanks!
I’d prefer Iloka to Gipson, honestly. Young, just as fast and rangy, but much bigger.
That is also acceptable.
Banner says the Browns will take Wentz
Which is a good sign we shouldn’t touch Wentz with a 10 foot pole. Whatever the Browns do the opposite is probably a safe bet.
I think Wentz can be legit. Whether the Browns ruin him is the real question. With that said, I expect Goff to have the better career and success … because the Brown and why not
the George Costanza rule?
Leaving Goff to San Fran at 7…………………unless we trade up with Baltimore.
Speaking of Stallone below in the SteveH thread, I saw Creed recently. It got like 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. I thought it was like, kind of ok. Was anyone else disappointed?
Also if they guy you fight is taller, has a longer reach, and looks like he outweighs you by 25 pounds, isn’t that a different weight class?
Artistic license. Willing suspension of Disbelief. I mean really Ivan Drago was probably a different weight class from Stallone in Rocky 4.
I know that’s nitpicking, it wasn’t my main reason for being disappointing. It just seemed like soooo much was copied from Rocky I.
Did they leave out the part where Rocky sexually assaults Adrian?
That’s how it was done in the old days.
Stallone is not exactly a great script writer
They were both heavyweights, which is unlimited. Stallone is tiny in real life, so I guess the idea was that Drago was around 7’6″”
if rocky and drago were in the same weight class anything’s possible
poor Bradford, how’s it feel when every review of your contract is all about how they can easily move on from you after a year. so thanks for staying when are you leaving?
Rich*
poor rich bradford
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMwZsFKIXa8
So Bradford wasn’t worth a second round pick, but now he’s worth this contract? Roseman definitely is a master at working the press.
ummm not sure the two things relate. losing a pick is very different than spending some of your money. plus since that pick is gone forever, keeping bradford makes that less of a wasted investment. and the issue then wasn’t the 2nd. it was the 2nd being added to what looked like a pretty even trade.
If Bradford wasn’t worth the 2nd round pick being thrown in, but he is worth this contract, that would imply that Foles is also worth an 18 mill contract.
if you work really really hard at making leaps of logic and ignoring that the person who made that trade isn’t here anymore, than maybe you can personally INFER that foles is worth 18mil. but it would just be your inference and it would not make it factually so. there’s no “aha i got them in a lie” going on here – chip made a crappy trade and howie’s doing what he can to turn lemons into delicious sugary lemon drops.
One man’s leap is another’s small step. I certainly don’t expect logic and continuity of thought from a general sport’s populace. But really, delicious sugary lemon drops? 😉
HUH?
hey man.. birds 24/7 needs an intern.. sorry if thats below your paygrade.. if its not you should apply.
Thanks, saw that, but it’s for current students. I graduated in January so alas I’m not eligible.
Good looking out though.
My point is that Philly media and fansites can be ridiculous. They didn’t like Kelly, they do like Roseman. My spidey sense says that he is a very good behind the scenes manipulator. I don’t trust anything that has happened recently.
The Philly media likes Roseman?
What?
Just about every talk show host and beat has shit on Roseman over the last two months.
I guess that depends on what treatment you think he deserves. 😉
What does that mean? When did Roseman say Bradford wasn’t worth that pick? Someone translate this post for me please.
What this guy said: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY_Yf4zz-yo
Ohhh that is what he meant to say, got it. Thanks for clearing that up for me Mac.
Bork Bork Bork
Mac . . .
Classic, fantastic stuff.
Great choice. Muppets show has Godfather-like qualities.
Just throwing this out there — IF the Eagles don’t like the top 3 QBs (or they are taken) — and Eagles finish middle of the pack again. Draft 13-20 range next year and no QB’s there either…No more Bradford(or 1 more year) and no QB to develop.
…….
Hmmmm…I know, cross that bridge when … but not sure the Eagles go into 2017 with no rookie QB on the bench. Rebuilding year, of sorts, no drafted rookie going into 2017 means … more years of uncertainty.
……
I guess if I had to bet money – I’d say Eagles go QB with 1st pick. Can they afford to wait to see what’s available next year?
My prediction for this years draft; The Eagles will draft Brisset with a late round pick, and he will turn out to not be completely useless. Feel better now?
Not much of stretch to predict Brisset being useless. But I agree.
Oh no, I predicted that he would NOT be completely useless, see? I like his footwork a lot. Unlike Lynch he actually looks like a dude who can learn how to take a 7 step drop within the first year in the league..
Not
a
fan
I get that he is not a great prospect, that is obvious. But not even in the 5/6/7 round? Who has better intangibles at that point in the draft still available? Brisset doesn’t play well, but he had a good physique and nice mechanics. At least there is a little too work with there, I think. With some luck maybe we can Kolb him..
Oh god, I just realised I mixed the names up. For the record, I was thinking about Driskel. I know nothing about Brisset, haven’t watched him at all. Just got the names mixed in with each other. What is your opinion in Driskel as a late rounder?
If they don’t get a shot at, or don’t like, a top-3 QB, there are a couple of wild card guys, like Cardale Jones or Hackenberg, that they can consider. But hopefully not at 13.
Those guys are long shots at being NFL QBs.
As an Ohio State fan, big big NO on Cardale.
Yeah man im in the thinking of getting the QB this year to groom coz cant wait til Bradford last season to be forced to draft a QB.. We in good range now for a QB to draft n groom at 13.. Wait til 3rd round this year n we could end up drafting another Kafka, Hall or Foles..
will Foles be available then?
yes because we have bradford for at least a year or two
Waiting a year is too risky. I think they need to go get their guy now……….unless their guy isn’t a guy I like in which case they already overpaid.
Pederson talked about believing in constantly adding to the QB pipeline. Regardless what happens at 13, the Eagles will be drafting multiple QBs the next few years, which is great since just because we spend a high pick on a highly regarded QB prospect, DOESNT gaurentee that he will become more than an NFL career backüp…. Going to have to cast a wide net the next few years to find Bradfords successor, I don’t like to just assume that the first QB we draft will end up being our solution… Im expecting something like 3 QBs,drafted over the courses of the next 4 drafts… Even if we hit on the first QB we draft, it could be years until we KNOW THAT we found our guy, so more QBs will be drafted even before we Know what we have in the QB we draft in April
I’m not sure most franchises think this way, though.
Flacco got extended and broke the record for signing bonus. What a joke.
Why?
Ozzie Newsome doesn’t make many mistakes. Also who is out there that could replace him?
That team’s looked like a mistake since 2012
Looked like crap since their core players retired or were cut/declining due to age.
So I think the “soft spot” to trade up for Goff is 6 with Baltimore. That was D3’s call first and I like the thinking.
Pick 6 is worth 1600 points. Our pick at 13 is worth 1150. Finding 450 points worth of extras should be able to be done. I hope we can swing it.
If you can get me a young guard that is a strength on the line instead of a guy we hope might be adequate through free agency, I will sign off on you using our top two picks to make this happen.
What about his tiny hands!
Doesn’t matter as long as he can sling it
I was kidding, although many teams (and Chipper) seem concerned. His hands are bigger than Romo’s though, and we know he never fumbles…
I know…
I guess no one caught that
Wentz has 10″ hands and I think he fumbled a good amount out of 5 games I watched. I think it was every one of the games but a couple he didn’t lose possession. I noted it as a concern I had.
It isn’t ideal but Goff’s hand size and Wentz’s fumbling isn’t enough to stop me from drafting Goff or Wentz.
These could help
I warn against assuming that the first QB we draft will become our franchise QB.. Andy was very lucky. When we look back on this draft, not sure it will have produced 5 franchise QBs, it’s as likely as it producing No franchise QBs…
..
Do you think Browns are a lock to get a franchise QB at #2? I would hate to package picks for a QB in THIS draft… Don’t trust any of them THAT much.. SAM saves us from desperation like that…
Some lower-level(cost-wise) FAs that I think would fit the Eagles well:
QB Kellen Clemens, SDG(if Sanchez cut)
OG Amini Silatolu, CAR
G/T Michael Harris, MIN
OG Chris Chester, ATL(if they wanted vet for 1 yr while rookie developed)
WR Brian Quick, STL
WR Andre Holmes, OAK
DE Andre Branch, JAX
DT Billy Winn, IND
DT Mike Martin, TEN
LB Ty Powell, BUF(RFA – may not be tendered due to BUF’s cap issues)
LB Keenan Robinson, WAS
S Isa Abdul-Quddus, DET
S David Bruton, DEN
S Rafael Bush, NO
I like andre holmes from a measurables standpoint – thought he was going to be bigger in OAK, but they really stacked that WR position with others.
I don’t know his measurables. Is he related to John?
Silatolu and Robinson would be some dope bargain bin shopping.
I’m really not getting the Paxton Lynch love, but they gave me bradford who I wanted so I will support whatever young QB Doug Pederson believes in.
..
Ideally, there is a Qb available at #13 that both the Rams and Texans covet, and we can get a 2nd round pick back letting the Texans jump the Rams for a QB… At #22, take whoever the best talent is… But when you get to #22, there should be a bunch of similarly graded prospects available, so odds are there will be someone that fills a major need like OT, G, LB, CB, WR… To fill a major need AND get a 2nd round pick wpuld be a Boss move by Roseman… however. If there is a kid available at #13 who we have a top 10 grade on, we have to draft him regardless of position…. If a top 10 talent doesn’t fall to 13, trade back
Hoping to see Roseman get a 2nd round pick while keeping both our 3rd rounders…. That would be HUGE, ESPECIALLY if we took care of Safety in Free Agency
..
What if your boy Zeke is there @ #13? Would you rather trade back or sit tight and try to move Murray to another willing partner?
If it were only that easy. No team is trading for Murray unless it is a contender mid season. No point on wasting a high pick on a RB that might not see the field at all year one. With all that said I wish the Eagles weren’t stuck with Murray because I’d love me some Zeke Elliot on the Eagles.
Id try to move Murray regardless, but that can only happen if he restructures for,the team that trades for him… If you can get a starter for the next 7-10 years I wouldn’t pass on that opportunity. And I do view Zeke as one of those guys regardless where he is mocked… Id take Zeke even if we still have all 3 RBs, and trade Ryan for a 5th rounder after drafting ZEKE, and cut Murray next year.
Not only is Zeke a beast, he is a leader who will be the rocket Fuel for a lucky Franchise
If we draft Elliott, I am making him play guard for a season. It will make him hungry for next year.
anyone read the article on BGN about how Sammy’s contract makes no sense for eagles?
interesting
Lots of the media is salty over the Eagles bringing Sammy back
why ?
The guy at BGN isn’t a fan of Bradford and wanted to the Eagles to go in different direction.
Mark Saltveit wrote the article. He’s a huge Chip Kelly apologist. He feels obligated to criticize the organization now that his hero has been fired.
He should thank the Eagles fans for helping out buying his books on Chip Kelly and move on… I can’t stand him on twitter anymore.
Removes all the thousands of words filled with breathless anticipation, doesn’t it? Media gets paid by the paragraph or number of clicks. And bad-mouthing any professional team’s roster moves sells.
BGN, ESP and Kempski tend to choose the negative aspect on all things Eagles to generate page views and name recognition only.
Positive and Negative is an opinion. That makes a whole picture instead of the half-assed BS that people want to cling on.
Do you mean having articles with titles like this make the whole picture…Eagles News: NFL fans think Sam Bradford is ugly.
http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2016/2/15/10991950/eagles-news-nfl-sam-bradford-ugly-quarterback-study-attractive-ranking
Or do the stick figure drawings give you the whole picture?
I don’t get my news from clickbait journalists, but if you think their buffoonery provides you with a whole picture, that’s OK too.
BGN is just an outlet of almost anything Eagles related but I guess if you want to continue just bashing people then why don’t you do a better job of journalism? My point was more driven to Kempski but ok..
Kempski cut his teeth as a writer/clickbait journalist for BGN. He is one and the same.
You don’t like me bashing them but think them constantly bashing and making fun of the owners, front office, coaches and players is good and provides the whole picture. If I draw a stick figure making fun of Jimmy would that make things better?
They’re the media for a reason and you’re acting like every sports coverage don’t make fun of their own teams. I really don’t see your point here besides that you don’t like these guys and personally I don’t like BGN either. Kempski might step on the homers toes because he’s a “Negadelphian”. However, he brings up some valid facts + hypothesizes and the other side of the argument that people like you just ignore for whatever reason you have.
We’ll just have to agree to disagree. You see him as a good journalist, I see him as a joke looking to stand out from the crowded Philadelphia media and make a name for himself.
But the eagles have been bad for a decade now and the stick figures are fantastic
And while it’s true that his overall guaranteed money is higher than the one year franchise it’s spread over two years. His cap hit is only $12.5M. Saltveit acts like saving $8M on this years cap is worthless. Who cares if Laurie spends $22M total when that number only effects Laurie: the cap number is the one that effects the team and thus us, the fans.
Further he ignores that the $4M guarantees as a roster bonus next March 1st, is offset if he’s cut and signs a deal with at least $4M guaranteed. So if it ends up being a 1 year deal, the Eagles spent $18M and spread the cap hit over two years ($12.5M this year and $5.5M next) instead of taking all $20+M cap hit this year.
Basically I think Saltveits analysis is way off and demonstrates a profound lack of knowledge of how the contract is structured and how it effects our cap.
nice work
I would hope that since the man has owned the team for 22 years, by now everyone would actually know how to spell his name.
It’s spelled Lurie and pronounced LOOR-ree.
Here is a link if you need it…http://inogolo.com/pronunciation/Lori
You shut up, Dave…I’m typing on an iPhone! Haha
Saltveit is a hack and has been.
He didn’t address the issue of durability. He basically was advocating a long term deal. I like BGN for news but their analysis is very inconsistent.
Quote: The only way this contract works is if the Eagles are able to draft their quarterback of the future — with no pick better than #13 in the first round.
That’s a big positive for me. I was very happy that’s the route they took.
Quote:You can cut him after one year! True, but you’ve paid $22 million for a year of bad quarterbacking.
Yeah who cares if you aren’t tanking considering the alternatives for this year. Someone said that yesterday on here they wanted to sign other FAs but if you don’t have a QB its even harder so why sign FAs without a viable QB. The cap hit is 12.5 million so that wasn’t correct.
Funny thing is he says
No, the biggest risk of all is if Bradford is as good as I think he might be. If he finally lives up to all the potential that made him a #1 overall pick and works magic in Doug Pederson’s offense.
But if that happened, other teams make it work. You have to live with it. It’s better we have optionality right now.
I like BGN for news but their analysis is very inconsistent – agree
Unrelated matter;
there is an epic level of trolling from Seattle people in the comments section on the article about the death/suicide of one of the robber barons who stole the Sonics and moved them to OKC.
Rightly so! And, Baltimore Colts.
not a lot of love for robber barrons at the moment. Probably wasn’t even going to go to real jail.
Starting to feel like the terrible FA situation on QBs is going to rocket the top rookie QBs value. Had previously felt that one of the top 3 may fall to 13. Was I always dreaming?
Over at Benjamin Allbright’s twitter account, he’s updated his spreadsheet for the QBs in this draft — which now includes throwing velocity tested at the Combine (link below):
Lynch 59 mph
Goff 58 mph
Wentz 57 mph
______________
From past Combines:
– Cousins 59 mph
– Kaepernick 59 mph
– Foles 57 mph
– Sanchez 57 mph
– Newton 56 mph
– Dalton 56 mph
– Mariota 56 mph
– Bortles 56 mph
– Flacco 55 mph
– Winston 55 mph
– Wilson 55 mph
https://twitter.com/AllbrightNFL/status/703660734010363904
That list really shows that it is a fake test. There is no universe where Flacco has a worse arm than Foles playing actual football in real situations.
Does show Lynch has elite arm raw talent if he ever puts it all together.
Just another data point, I guess, for when GMs and scouts are looking at the players’ tape.
I’m just passing it along. Must mean something to someone, since the teams put the QBs through this exercise every season.
This is velocity not how far the ball travels.
What caught my eye was Goff’s velocity vs. Wentz’s.
Seems like I’d read that Wentz has the superior arm.
Maybe it’s Goff’s easy motion. Ball jumps out of his hand.
This was measured at the combine so I’m guessing familiarity with route runners could have affected the throws. If they decided to just track how far it went then would have been a better measurement of arm strength.
how deep a pass? I can gun a 10yarder, but not way in hell i’m throwing a 60yd Vick “wrist flip”
don’t know the details. Nothing on NFL’s Combine sight.
I think Jimmy Kempski’s talked about it (or tweeted).
Here’s a link to Jimmy Bama’s description of the test, which reads:
http://www.phillyvoice.com/quarterback-notes-nfl-combine/
One of the drills that is never televised in NFL Network’s coverage of the Combine is the radar gun test. Quarterbacks “take the snap” at the 5 yard line, do a 3-step drop, and fire a throw as hard as they can at a guy standing about seven yards deep in the end zone holding up a blocking pad. It is seemingly designed to simulate tight window throws, as space is congested in the red zone. The more heat you can put on the ball for window throws down in close, the better. A second personnel guy stands behind the quarterback with a radar gun.
Flawed test that doesn’t really test arm strength.
Why? Baseball doesn’t evaluate pitchers by having them throw from the warning track. Being able to drill the out route is just as important as being able to launch it 70 yards.
Yeah but Goff has been known as an excellent intermediate thrower especially over the middle which is what it sounds like the test simulates if Kempski is correct.. It doesn’t simulate short outs, long outs, long throws, bucket throws (something Lynch is good at when he’s on and Wentz is inconsistent at imo.)
QB throwing velocity reminds me of this from Real Genius…
Wasn’t it reported that Foles had great velocity? That definitely didn’t translate in the games
Exactly
Oh here’s it is. Velocity doesn’t seem to correlate with what I see on the field. Flacco would be much higher for example
This deal is about perfect from my perspective. Keep Bradford around to see if he improves without committing long-term or busting the cap. Well done Howie.