Things moved too slowly or not at all, and now the Philadelphia Eagles will probably have to wait until the end of the season to get back to the negotiating table with Sam Bradford, as the extension talks have broken down.
The Eagles, acquiring Bradford via trade with one year left on his rookie contract (the old ones, when rookies got a lot of money) worth $12.95 million, were out to sign him on for one or two more seasons, but his form in the preseason, showing that his injuries of the past probably don’t have any lasting effect, made the whole thing too expensive for the Eagles at the moment.
Despite talking with confidence about Bradford and his ability to operate in a new offensive system while bouncing back from another season-ending injury, the Eagles were obviously concerned this could all blow up in their face, which was why they kept Mark Sanchez around. Sanchez might not be the dream quarterback for any team, but in today’s quarterback market, he’s probably a starter for quite a few teams around the league, and a very good player to have as a backup.
Now Bradford is going to be playing in the “real thing” for the first time under Chip Kelly and in Eagles uniform. The overall feeling around the league is that he’s going to be a very good fit, and possibly will become a very expensive item due to the Eagles possibly not moving fast enough during the offseason, although their concerns had a solid foundation.