Carson Wentz And Sam Bradford’s Rocky Relationship
By Matt Giraldi
The Philadelphia Eagles have handed the keys for the future of the franchise to rookie quarterback Carson Wentz. The valet driver for the 2016 season appears to be incumbent Sam Bradford. Regardless of whom finishes the upcoming season as the starter, the Eagles need both quarterbacks to work collaboratively at making each other better.
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Bradford has handled this offseason as poorly as one could possibly do so, and, to his credit, still has every opportunity to win the starting job in training camp. Threatening to hold out was never an intelligent decision. Perhaps more baffling was the fact that Bradford and his camp targeted the very regime that endured wide receiver Terrell Owens‘ antics on a driveway.
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Now that Bradford is back in the fold, it’s relatively unknown whether or not he’ll serve as a quality teammate, leader and mentor. Former Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter believed the situation would not negatively affect the locker room. Does anyone believe that?
This is certainly where the Ax Man and I strongly disagree. Bradford and his agent Tom Condon threw a tantrum because he didn’t want to face competition for the job. This soon after Bradford received a guaranteed $22 million.
It also begs a few questions: How unsuccessful does Bradford feel he has to perform in order to be justifiably benched for the rookie? Would Bradford help with Wentz’s development from the bench? Would Bradford push himself back from an inevitable injury in the event Wentz (or Chase Daniel) exceeded expectations in replacement duty? Finally, how would Bradford handle a hypothetical situation where he doesn’t start Week One?
"“There is no real competition. If you’ve given up the draft choices [to trade up] and he’s the second pick in the draft, he’s playing,” Condon said in early May. “That’s all there is to it.”"
Many Eagles fans simply don’t believe Bradford is a leader. He wanted to take his ball and go home. To his credit, Wentz has acted mature, poised and calm during his media obligations where the relationship between the two quarterbacks is emphasized.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, the media won’t let up on this topic as the summer ensues, so Wentz has time to perfect his craft on and off the field. Wentz has said the right things thus far this offseason. Bradford has not.
The two quarterbacks have still yet to speak to one another. Both quarterbacks are going to be learning a new offensive system, but Bradford will have the experience with the offensive personnel. In case you didn’t know: Week One kicks off 119 days from today.
The quarterbacks have the equivalency of an entire NFL regular season (17 weeks) to determine their role on the Eagles. Regardless who wins the starting job, Bradford will have justified his actions. Should he perform exceedingly well, win the job and lead the team to success, he’d have backed up his outrage. Should Wentz emerge as the starter, Bradford would be correct in not wanting to engage in competition. If there’s anything that Bradford has shown us thus far, it’s his inability to roll up his sleeves and perform to his potential.