Some Redskins fans see stories that the Redskins might draft Marcus Mariota as “proof” of a plot to land Sam Bradford from the Eagles. [Face palm]
Oh, where to begin?
No legit media source carried the story. Eagles coach Chip Kelly debunked the idea at his press conference today.
The thought took flight with some callers to sports talk radio earlier today. Rational thought should have killed it.
This story was over the top even for NFL lying season.
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Oh the things you can think if you are willing to try.
~ The Cat in the Hat
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Philly never had enough value to offer the ‘Skins a pure swap of picks to move into Washington’s fifth overall spot. That was the silly rumor that fed into the Bradford conspiracy. A study of an NFL Draft Value Chart Washington’s real estate is juicier than Philadelphia’s entire 2015 Draft picks. Thus rose the theory of the Redskins’ demand that the Eagles land Bradford, a “Gruden QB,” to sweeten any potential deal with us.
The problem? The Redskins cannot afford Bradford. The Eagles are on the hook for $13 million this season – three times the combined salaries owed to Robert Griffin III and to Kirk Cousins. While we weren’t looking, Chip Kelly cleared enormous cap space by dumping veteran players.
The Redskins do not have that cushion. They do have a GM who is prone to build talent slowly from within. Scot McCloughan so far has avoided the big swing for a big name player to “win now,” as Chip Kelly is clearly doing.
Why Bradford, anyway?
Bradford and Cam Newton are the main reasons there is a rookie pay scale today. Both are poster boys for over-hyped team saviors that are under-performing their contracts.
Bradford is 18-30-1 as a starter with the Rams. He is injury prone. His career completion rate is under 60 percent. Griffin and Cousins have done better.
Bradford’s career passer rating is 79.3, although that has improved year by year to 90.9 over seven games last year. We might expect the same from Griffin and Cousins.
If Bruce Allen wanted Bradford, he could have swung the deal for him in 2012 instead of positioning for Griffin. Giving up multiple picks for Griffin and then to swap a first round for Bradford is just … ugh.
Finally, Bradford claims Cherokee ancestry. A trade for him would inflame the nuisance name-changers. That is a hassle the Redskins do not need. Everyday fans would not think of that. (Hog Heaven is not sure the Redskins would have either.)
C’mon, sports fans. You can think better than this.
Meanwhile, up in Philly….
Those poor, whipsawed Eagles fans have their own conspiracy theories. They are as disenchanted by Bradford as Redskins fans would be, so they are inventing conspiracy theories of their own.
It turns out they don’t see the Redskins as the target for a Bradford trade at all. They seem to think the Browns are in Chip Kelly’s sights.
Cleveland supposedly angled for Bradford too, but the Eagles snatched him away. So now, the Eagles will offer Bradford to the Browns for their first-round Draft pick, the 12th overall. Then the Eagles will pair that with their own 20th overall pick to make a hard-to-refuse offer to a team with a higher pick. The Titans, Redskins and Jets are likely targets.
The problem is that the unfolding saga of Robert Griffin III poisoned the well for any such deals.
Chip Kelly says he has his man. The Browns must feel the same about Josh McCown. Real NFL teams are not cavalier about first day Draft picks.
Eagles fans are in denial. That’s all.
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