The Eagles Soap Opera: As Sam Turns

Well, now that we have that trifling issue of selecting the candidates for president out of the way, we can get on with the serious news of the week.

That, of course, would be the NFL Draft.

Which brings us to the Eagles. As usual, they are a mess.

All of this is centering around Sam Bradford, who has made a mess of things by indicating he wants to be traded in the wake of the blockbuster move by Howie Roseman to move up in the draft, sending a boatload of draft picks to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for the No. 2 pick in the draft. They are expected to use that pick to select their quarterback of the future, Carson Wentz, the wunderkind from North Dakota State. That is, of course, if the Los Angeles Rams play nice and, as expected, take Jared Goff of California, the other highly prized QB in this draft, No. 1.

All of which has, as you might surmise, rubbed Bradford the wrong way.

He claims to have been blindsided by the Eagles' move to move up in the draft. He says the team never bothered to tell him of their plans. I'm not exactly sure where it is written that they have to.

Where Bradford might have a better argument is in his belief that all those draft picks Roseman just shipped off to the Rams could have gone a long way toward helping Bradford - and making the Eagles a more logical playoff contender - this year.

I like Bradford. I think he has the talent to be a great quarterback, yes, even a franchise quarterback.

But I really hope he's not holding his breath waiting on a groundswell of public support rallying around him and his cause.

I think mine has been the only voice to speak up in his favor.

And now he's pushing his luck.

I think Bradford is a very good QB who could lead the Eagles back to the playoffs.

But he has not done that yet. He hasn't done much of anything. His time with the Rams was littered with blown-out ACLs. He struggled at the start of last year before playing very well down the stretch. Unfortunately, that came too late to salvage the Eagles' season. Bradford was an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He could have gone anywhere. He didn't go to Temple, but he did decided to return to the Eagles, I am guessing because he was not blown away by offers from other teams.

Bradford signed a two-year deal, believed to be worth $35 million, with $22 million guaranteed.

Then he watched Roseman go out and sign backup Chase Daniel to a longer deal, for a lot more money than is usually shelled out to journeyman QBs.

Then came the convulsive deal in which the Eagles moved up to the No. 2 pick in the draft.

The Eagles insisted - in fact Roseman is still insisting - that Bradford is their starter this year. That isn't assuaging Bradford's hurt feelings. He says he would like to be traded to a team where his future is secure.

This is not going to end well. I see a Draft Night deal coming, maybe sending Bradford to the Broncos. I still find it hard to believe John Elway is going to go into a season with Mark Sanchez as his starting QB.

But here's what I really think about this whole thing.

Yes, the Eagles probably were less than forthright with Bradford about their plans. So what? This is football. Grow up. Go out there and compete. Show everyone what I happen to think, that you're a very good quarterback, a franchise QB that can lead a team deep into the playoffs. Make the Eagles so damn uncomfortable that they have no choice but to keep you in their plans.

But here is my overriding thought on this latest Eagles soap opera.

Just once in my life I would like someone to offer me $22 million dollars to do anything. For some reason, I don't think I'd be turning my nose up at such an offer.

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