National Football League

Sam Bradford prepared to play without new deal

Published Jul. 20, 2015 9:10 p.m. ET

foxsports

By Vincent Frank.

There have been reports floating around over the past several weeks that the Philadelphia Eagles and quarterback Sam Bradford were engaged in contract extension negotiations.

Bradford, 27, was acquired from the St. Louis Rams in exchange for Nick Foles back in March. He miss the Rams last 26 regular season games after suffering a torn ACL in each of the past two years. Now set to earn nearly $13 million in the final year of his rookie deal, Bradford appears content with playing it out and seeing what happens.

Was asked about Sam Bradford’s contract on @NFLTotalAccess: I’m told he plans to play it out this year on the final year of his deal.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 20, 2015

That’s a mighty big gamble for a quarterback that has not suited up for a game of any kind since October of 2013. Though, Bradford can afford to give up long-term security for a potential big payday down the road. After all, he will have earned all $78 million from his rookie deal by the time the 2015 season concludes.

The stakes are pretty high here for both Bradford and the Eagles. Not only did Chip Kelly and company give up the aforementioned Foles when they traded for Bradford back in March, they yielded a second-round pick in that deal and are paying the quarterback the full $13 million owed to him this year.

One of the things working in Bradford’s favor is the fact that Philadelphia doesn’t necessarily have many options outside of paying him a lucrative deal should he perform well in 2015. The team re-signed Mark Sanchez to a two-year, $9 million deal this past offseason, but he can’t be seen as the long-term option. Outside of that, Matt Barkley and Tim Tebow are the team’s other two quarterbacks.

Short of Philadelphia struggling big time in 2015 and earning a high first-round pick, Bradford will likely remain the team’s best option moving forward. Though, that’s all dependent on him actually remaining healthy for a full season for the first time since 2012.

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