Philadelphia Eagles Need to Re-Sign Sam Bradford

The Philadelphia Eagles don’t have a lot of options when it comes to their quarterback for 2016. They need to re-sign Sam Bradford.

A lot of people are talking about going after a guy like Jared Goff from California or Paxton Lynch from Memphis, but really, they can’t afford to use a first round pick on a quarterback. They have too many other needs, and they could easily fill one by just re-signing Bradford.

The lack of a second round pick in the 2016 draft is pivotal. The Rams own that pick because of the Bradford trade, and letting Bradford walk in free agency would basically be letting that draft pick walk as well. Had the Eagles kept Nick Foles and had all their normal picks, I can definitely see situations where drafting a quarterback in the first round could be beneficial, especially with how poor Foles looked this year. However, that’s just not the situation.

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Bradford wasn’t by any means “great,” and he struggled to get comfortable in the first few games of the season, but by the end of the year, he looked really solid and showed clear improvements. Giving him a second year with the team, even though it’ll be a new head coach and likely a different offensive system, will give him a great advantage. Much of the offensive talent will likely still be there, and having that year playing with them under his belt should help him continue to grow and improve.

However, my argument to re-sign Bradford is more because of what they should actually do with their draft picks, not because I was blown away with Bradford’s performance and think he should be in Philadelphia forever. I am a fan of Bradford, but he was still in the bottom half of the league among starting quarterbacks. Still, like I said, with more time, he can continue to improve. When you have the guy right here, why not take advantage of it and re-sign him?

This may seem like I’m in favor of “settling” for a quarterback, and that’s because, essentially, I am. For now, at least. I don’t love it, but the Eagles have too many needs at other positions going into the offseason that they can’t afford to start over again and try to draft a new quarterback. The free agent options at the position are likely to be poor too, so that’s not an option either. It’s time to get over the fact that “settling” has a negative connotation and look at the facts.

I don’t care who the Eagles head coach is, offensive line is the biggest need on this team right now, and they have to draft either a guard or tackle in the first round. Without a second round pick, they’d have to wait until the third round if they don’t draft one with their first pick, and by then it would be exponentially harder to find a standout guy that can immediately come in and start. Allen Barbre, Andrew Gardner and Matt Tobin are all backup-level players, and starting more than one of them at a time is detrimental to the team. Plus, with Jason Peters possibly on his way out, they will have a lot of holes to fill.

If Peters retires or is cut (which is more likely than him retiring), the only real starting caliber offensive linemen they’d have would be Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson. Johnson would likely move over to the left side, leaving both guard positions up for grabs as well as the right tackle position. I can live with one of the aforementioned guards being a starter next year, but Barbre is old and isn’t getting any better, Gardner is just average and Tobin is inconsistent and generally just a backup. None of those guys is a long-term option for a strong offensive line.

Coming full circle, a revamped offensive line could be huge for the continued development of Bradford. Even the best quarterbacks are going to struggle with a poor offensive line, as we’ve seen with Aaron Rodgers for most of this year. The Eagles need to start rebuilding the line that was so dominant in 2013.

So sign Bradford to whatever his market value is, because they have to keep that first round pick for an offensive lineman. Using it on a quarterback is a waste.

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