Don’t see the Chase Daniel signing as any threat to Sam Bradford’s hold on the starting quarterback job with the Eagles at all. If anything, it seems to strengthen it.
Seriously, think about it …
The career backup has thrown a grand total of 77 passes in his NFL career. He went undrafted coming out of college, where he had a career at Missouri but was widely referred to as “too small” to play at the next level. Signed as a free agent by Washington in 2009, he now begins his eight season with a fourth team.
Sorry, doesn’t sound like much competition for a guy who came into the league as the No. 1 pick and has been bequeathed a bottomless pit of chances to live up to that billing. In fact, unless Howie Roseman pulls another rabbit out of his hat and deals Bradford before his newly signed contract states that the Birds need to start paying him, Daniel’s arrival is just that – another chance for Sammy Sleeves to be the man.
With no pressure whatsoever to possibly affect his performance negatively.
Hey, you gotta be sensitive with, as George Costanza would call suggest, “a delicate genius.”
For all the huffing and puffing made about the money given Daniel in this three-year deal with the Eagles, not to mention about his “best buddies forever” connection with new coach Doug Pederson thanks to their recent three-year run together as supporting acts in Kansas City, the reality is current odd-man-out Mark Sanchez was a far greater threat to Bradford’s comfy domain here.
Rip the rude all you want, but Sanchez has had some success in the NFL, even as a starting quarterback. That franchise completion percentage record Bradford just set in 2015, well, the guy who held the previous mark was Sanchez for what he did in 2014.
He also has one thing that Sanchez supporters constantly overvalue with their guy: pedigree.
Sanchez was the No. 5 pick in the 2009 draft … the same one that saw Daniel never has his name called.
Of course, maybe Daniel’s maturity could be a calming influence. He is, after all, a month older than Sanchez, and 13 months Bradford’s senior.
Gotta love that veteran leadership.
Plus, he knows Pederson’s offense better than anyone else and fits any other cliché that may prove apropos when trying to justify a journeyman’s position with the team, especially one that comes with such a ridiculous price tag.
- Jack Kerwin | [email protected]