by Jack Kerwin | ydkjack1@gmail.com
Love it.
Wholly. Completely. Totally.
For all involved.
It’s rare when you see a trade made just a week before the advent of an NFL season, even more so when it involves a quarterback shifting his starter status from one team to another, but the Eagles and Minnesota Vikings turned that into reality on Saturday morning with Sam Bradford bringing a – sit down for this one – first-round draft pick in 2017 and a conditional fourth-rounder in 2018.
Howie Roseman, you magnificent bastard …
Not for nothing, but like him or loathe him, or, really, his moves, the Eagles GM has been a whirling dervish of wheeling and dealing that has taken offseason football entertainment in this town to heights, or, for some, depths, it has never experienced before.
Signings, re-signings, chief among them Bradford, additions by subtractions, shades of gray maneuvering all the way up to the No. 2 overall position in April’s draft in the hope of getting Carson Wentz and then actually doing so.
Now this. Wow.
Here’s the thing that really makes me smile. This latest one seems a win-win for everyone.
The Eagles, Vikings, Bradford, Wentz, Philly fans and the NFL with their next draft event now offering the carrot of the host team now actually having a selection in the first round.
OK, maybe weeklong incumbent Chase Daniel ain’t too thrilled about things. But he had no shot of taking the job away from Bradford anyway. Even with Wentz being reported a possible No. 1 for the Birds going forward as early as next week if his sore ribs are manageable, Daniel at least has some hope for the time being.
He could actually start a week or two or who knows how long if Daniel outperforms Wentz in practice or until the anointed en masse savior of the franchise is deemed healthy enough to play.
First and foremost, the deal never happens if Teddy Bridgewater doesn’t go down in a heap earlier this week with a season-ending knee injury. How ironically “Bradford.” With their starter out and Vikings management thinking the club had the makings of a Super Bowl competitor with something other than a fill-in to complement the team’s strong defense and Hall of Fame-bound running back Adrian Peterson, Minnesota was in the market for someone such as the Eagles’ 2015 starter.
Average. Better than average. On the cusp of being pretty damn good. Whatever view you have of Bradford, the reality is he has proven to be, in general, serviceable and professional and likeable. All qualities that will play well in a locker room devastated by a critical loss and uncertain of the immediate future.
If nothing else, Bradford will be a calming influence and, if he remains healthy, perhaps quite a bit more.
The Eagles and their fans no longer have to ponder the waiting game on Wentz now, either, and then there is that first-rounder coming back as well. Pretty heady stuff.
A job well done. Love it.
All around.
Love it.
Wholly. Completely. Totally.
For all involved.
It’s rare when you see a trade made just a week before the advent of an NFL season, even more so when it involves a quarterback shifting his starter status from one team to another, but the Eagles and Minnesota Vikings turned that into reality on Saturday morning with Sam Bradford bringing a – sit down for this one – first-round draft pick in 2017 and a conditional fourth-rounder in 2018.
Howie Roseman, you magnificent bastard …
Not for nothing, but like him or loathe him, or, really, his moves, the Eagles GM has been a whirling dervish of wheeling and dealing that has taken offseason football entertainment in this town to heights, or, for some, depths, it has never experienced before.
Signings, re-signings, chief among them Bradford, additions by subtractions, shades of gray maneuvering all the way up to the No. 2 overall position in April’s draft in the hope of getting Carson Wentz and then actually doing so.
Now this. Wow.
Here’s the thing that really makes me smile. This latest one seems a win-win for everyone.
The Eagles, Vikings, Bradford, Wentz, Philly fans and the NFL with their next draft event now offering the carrot of the host team now actually having a selection in the first round.
OK, maybe weeklong incumbent Chase Daniel ain’t too thrilled about things. But he had no shot of taking the job away from Bradford anyway. Even with Wentz being reported a possible No. 1 for the Birds going forward as early as next week if his sore ribs are manageable, Daniel at least has some hope for the time being.
He could actually start a week or two or who knows how long if Daniel outperforms Wentz in practice or until the anointed en masse savior of the franchise is deemed healthy enough to play.
First and foremost, the deal never happens if Teddy Bridgewater doesn’t go down in a heap earlier this week with a season-ending knee injury. How ironically “Bradford.” With their starter out and Vikings management thinking the club had the makings of a Super Bowl competitor with something other than a fill-in to complement the team’s strong defense and Hall of Fame-bound running back Adrian Peterson, Minnesota was in the market for someone such as the Eagles’ 2015 starter.
Average. Better than average. On the cusp of being pretty damn good. Whatever view you have of Bradford, the reality is he has proven to be, in general, serviceable and professional and likeable. All qualities that will play well in a locker room devastated by a critical loss and uncertain of the immediate future.
If nothing else, Bradford will be a calming influence and, if he remains healthy, perhaps quite a bit more.
The Eagles and their fans no longer have to ponder the waiting game on Wentz now, either, and then there is that first-rounder coming back as well. Pretty heady stuff.
A job well done. Love it.
All around.
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