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Could The Eagles Have a Quarterback Controversy In OTAs?

By Blaine Grisak

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It seems like the Philadelphia Eagles cannot get through an offseason without some sort of quarterback controversy. McNabb-Kolb, McNabb-Vick, Vick-Foles, and Foles-Sanchez.

It doesn’t end there however unfortunately. The Eagles have not one, not two, but three former first round picks at the quarterback position, two of which were Heismann Trophy winners, and two of which have won playoff games at the NFL level.

Those three quarterbacks are obviously Sam Bradford, Mark Sanchez, and Tim Tebow. While we can basically throw(pun intended) Tebow out the equation, Bradford and Sanchez could have quite the competition this offseason especially if Bradford has to miss out on a significant amount of offseason workouts, giving Sanchez the ability to gain chemistry with the starting wide receivers, it could pose a problem for the recently acquired quarterback.

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Going into the 2015 season it is presumed that Sam Bradford will be the team’s starting quarterback. They did after all trade a second round pick next year and a fourth round pick as well as their stable quarterback in Foles in order to attain the former rookie of the year.

However, Bradford is known for his injury history and will not be able to participate much in OTA’s aside from non-contact, basic throwing drills, and even then he is going to be taking it easy. When asked whether he understands why fans are worried he can’t stay healthy, the quarterback responded “S***, theres reasons for it.”

Although coach Chip Kelly noted that Bradford is on schedule in his rehab from a second ACL surgery, the team’s new signal-caller walked with a limp on Thursday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Bradford has acknowledged that this ACL recovery has been more difficult than last offseason’s rehab. The health of Bradford’s knee isn’t the lone factor in the Eagles’ Eagles‘ quarterback equation though.

As mentioned above, if Bradford has to miss out on a significant amount of offseason workouts, giving Sanchez the ability to gain chemistry with the starting wide receivers, it could pose a problem for the recently acquired quarterback.

After all, unlike Bradford, Sanchez isn’t going into his first year in this offense. Bradford may have had Pat Shurmur as his offensive coordinator in St. Louis, but they weren’t running half the stuff that the Eagles are running. Everyone knows that this is Chip Kelly’s offense.

Sanchez ran the offense for half the season last year and for the most part, excelled in it. Sanchez threw for 2,418 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions with a 64% completion rate. He also went 4-4 in his eight starts which is a respectable win-loss ratio considering three of the four losses were against Seattle, Green Bay, and rival Dallas.

Im not making a case for Sanchez to start over Bradford as Bradford is the more talented quarterback. However, given that this is Sanchez’s second year in the system and he is going to be able to gain chemistry with Nelson Agholor, Jordan Matthews, DeMarco Murray, etc, it could and should give Chip Kelly something to think about if Sanchez lights it up in OTA’s and the preseason.

Sam Bradford will the starting quarterback until told otherwise or barring injury, but given Sanchez’s experience with the offense and the fact that he will be taking the majority of the snaps leading up to the season, if he plays well, it could create yet another quarterback controversy in Philadelphia.

Next: Byron Maxwell Guarantees Eagles In Super Bowl

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