Things are moving quickly and in unexpected directions in the quarterback market. The latest one? The Denver Broncos interested in making a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for Sam Bradford.
Quick recap of how we got here: Bradford was traded by the Los Angeles Rams to the Eagles before the 2015 season began. He had his best season as a starter, but the head coach that brought him over, Chip Kelly, was fired at the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the Broncos, coming off a Super Bowl win, lost the two quarterbacks that started for them last season. Peyton Manning retired (pretty much made it clear to him they’ll release him if he doesn’t) while Brock Osweiler, insulted by the Broncos for losing his starting spot before the playoffs, bolted in free agency to an $18-million-per-season contract with the Houston Texans.
The Eagles, who signed Bradford on a new two-year deal while also signing Chase Daniel to be his expensive backup, surprisingly made a lavish and questionable move up the draft to get the second overall spot, with almost everyone convinced they did it to take Carson Wentz, the quarterback out of North Dakota State.
Bradford, not liking the fact that he has to compete with someone for a starting spot, has demanded a trade according to reports. The Broncos, who right now have only Mark Sanchez as someone capable of starting, need more than just a draft pick. In any case, unless there’s some hidden gem like Russell Wilson (third round pick in 2012), the Broncos won’t be taking a quarterback who is good enough to start for them next season without hurting the team.
And so, after checking out Robert Griffin III (signing with the Cleveland Browns), Ryan Fitzpatrick (still unsigned) and Colin Kaepernick (deal fell through on money issues), they turn their attention to Bradford, with pressure to make a deal happen before the draft, but with most teams already set at the position, not a whole lot of teams are going to make any offers to the Eagles for him.