By Peter Gleason
Now, for some insight into why Sam Bradford has demanded a trade from the Eagles.
Bradford’s agent, Tom Condon, spoke to SiriusXM NFL Radio last night about Bradford’s unhappiness. Condon emphasized that the Eagles starting quarterback wants to go somewhere he feels he can win the job long-term if he plays well.
“None of this is personal, it’s just business. And so from our perspective it is that Sam wants the opportunity to try to go some place and not only be the starter, but be the starter there long-term,” Condon said.
“There’s a couple of things that go along with this. If you’re on a two-year contract and the second pick in the draft is behind you, then you better really play well because you’re going to hear it from the fans if you don’t. You better play well or your teammates are going to be looking at you sideways and wondering about when the next guy is going to step in.
“I think from that standpoint, too, it’s that’s the other players understand that you’re a short-term guy. And you’re going to be out of there even if you play well because you can hopefully be traded or something like that before your contract expires. And so Sam would like to forego all of that.”
According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, the Eagles were “blindsided” by Bradford’s trade request, but they still don’t have any interest in dealing him. Broncos beat reporter Mike Klis tweeted that Denver reached out to Philly about Bradford, but the Eagles’ asking price was “too high.”
It’s unclear what compensation the Eagles could get for Bradford, but Condon touched on the type of team the quarterback would like to go to.
“He doesn’t view himself as somebody that’s a stop-gap kind of quarterback and he wants to go some place and take a chance on being with a team for a long time and I can’t blame him for that,” Condon said.
Condon also called Bradford’s last three games “remarkable,” in which Bradford threw five touchdowns and three interceptions.
“Sam’s a competitor and he wants to go some place and know that he’s the man,” Condon said. “He just doesn’t want to be there holding a place card and then wondering where he’s going to go at the end of the year. He’d like to go some place where he can participate and play.
