I woke up in a cold sweat this morning after having a nightmare that the Eagles traded Nick Foles and a 2nd round pick for the oft injured Sam Bradford. Oh wait, that actually happened. As a lot of people sat on Twitter, ESPN, and ProFootballTalk.com, we were awaiting the 4 o’clock hour to hit yesterday so the NFL Free Agency Period could “officially” begin. However, before the clock struck 4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, Adam Schefter reported a whale of a deal that sent the entire city of Phildalphia into a frenzy. Nobody knew details of the deal. Were there Eagles getting picks, or giving picks? What round were the picks in? Was Bradford part of a larger, possibly 3 team deal? Around 7:00, the picture became clear, the Eagles had dealt Foles and a 2nd round pick, as well as conditional picks to the Rams, for Sam Bradford.
I’ve broken this trade down as many different ways as I can, but I literally can not make any sense of this deal. Nick Foles never really did much for me, he had an amazing 2013, but it was a fluke. He doesn’t have good footwork, he doesn’t have great arm strength, he can’t run the read option, and he became skittish in the pocket in 2014. But he’s a young, cheap quarterback, who has proven that he can succeed and be serviceable at the NFL level. The optimist in me is hoping that this is part of a larger deal. Apparently other teams in the NFL truly value Sam Bradford over the quarterback prospects in this draft and Chip know this, so he’s looking to make his move for Mariota in the draft (see below).
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2358878-insider-buzz-nfl-teams-want-sam-bradford-if-released-over-mariota-winston
However, I feel like this is me simply being in denial and that Sam Bradford is going to be my opening day starter. Take a look at why this make no sense to me.
1. Sam Bradford is slated to make $13 million this year. Foles just under $1.5. Advantage Foles.
2. Foles missed about half the season with a broken clavicle last year, Bradford has missed the last year and a half. Advantage Foles.
3. Foles doesn’t have mobility to run the read option. Bradford, who actually had some mobility, will not be running the read option because of his injury history. Advantage Foles (never thought I’d say that in a mobility debate).
4. When on the field, who has been more productive? Advantage Foles.
5. Who has a higher winning percentage? Advantage Foles.
This is coming from a guy that doesn’t like Nick Foles. I’m hoping that this is a small part of a larger plan, but I really don’t believe it is. The Eagles signing of Mark Sanchez now makes a lot more sense now, Chip basically hedged his bet on Bradford before getting Bradford. Now, if Bradford gets hurt, Sanchez get paid like a starter because it shows how little confidence the Eagles have that Bradford can stay healthy. The Eagles had a press release welcoming Bradford, the Twitter, and Facebook pages have been updated welcoming Bradford. This is either the most elaborate and thought out smoke screen of all time, or this is exactly what it looks like, a very bad trade. This basically has disaster written all over it and I can’t get behind this deal for one second. Stay tuned Philadelphia, but it looks like we’ve got dark days ahead.
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