By Jack Ryan
Now that the draft is in his rear-view mirror, next up for Eagles Supreme Leader Chip Kelly is Sam Bradford’s contract extension.
“Now that the Mariota stuff is behind us, they want him to be their starter for years to come. They want to extend his contract,” ESPN NFL insider Adam Caplan said Sunday on The Fanatic. “I don’t have a timeline. It’s not a big deal. I just think that they know where his knee is on its recovery. They’re comfortable with it.
“Obviously, they’d like to see more of him. I don’t get the feeling, checking in with them, that it’s that big of a deal to them. I think they’re motivated to do something. I think they will. I wouldn’t rule out an extension by training camp or even well before that.”
An extension for Bradford from an Eagles standpoint certainly makes plenty of sense. It would give stability to a position that has had six quarterbacks start games since Donovan McNabb was traded on Easter Sunday in 2010. It would also give Kelly a pedigreed quarterback who was selected first overall and showed a glimpse of his potential as a rookie playing under Eagles’ offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur in St. Louis.
“There was so much going on during free agency and the run up to the draft. Now that all that’s behind them, they can knock some of these contracts out that that they need to take care of and Bradford is one of them,” Caplain said. “This is a guy that they feel is a great fit and he’s a guy that they believe if healthy, he can be their starter for a long time to come.”
There certainly is a risk in the Eagles’ signing a quarterback who has missed two consecutive seasons with a twice-torn ACL. From Bradford’s standpoint, he’d likely showcase himself in Kelly’s high octane offense before signing a deal, especially one that is team friendly.
