It's a match made in Eagles heaven, unless the root of all evil raises its ugly head.
All signs are pointing to quarterback Sam Bradford's return to Philadelphia, according to media reports. But because he is a free agent, the price has to be right for both sides.
Sam Bradford Not Worth $25M, But He'll Be Close
For Bradford, who was the last No. 1 draft choice to enjoy a huge contract coming out of college before the arrival of the rookie salary cap, money should not be an issue.
Unless it is.
Sam Bradford Could Be Chip Kelly's Choice With Niners
"Bradford is coming off an up-and-down season, but he's bound to draw interest on the free-agent market if the Eagles don't lock him down," NFL.com reported. "(New Eagles coach Doug) Pederson, though, hinted at Bradford as an offseason priority, saying last week: 'He's a quarterback that would fit perfectly into a system I'm going to bring.'"
Tight end Zach Ertz added that he believes the quarterback wants to stay with his current team, according to CSN Philly.
"I think he's excited," Ertz said. "He wants to be in Philadelphia."
"Whether he's back here or not, that's none of my business," Ertz added. "Obviously, he's going to do what's best for him and the Eagles are going to do what's best for us. But at the end of the day, I think he does want to be here."
Local radio personality Howard Eskin is convinced the Eagles will re-sign Bradford, according to CBS Philadelphia.
"I think he's going to be franchised," the host said. "They're not going to let him go, so eliminate that completely. There's no quarterbacks. That is definitive. There's not a chance that they let him go, because then you're telling everybody that this is a rebuilding process and you've got no chance. There's no quarterbacks. Mark Sanchez is a backup quarterback and that's what he is. You can't play 16 games without Sam Bradford and with Mark Sanchez as the quarterback and there's nobody else out there that's as good as Sam Bradford."
Bradford signed a six-year, $78 million contract with the Rams as a rookie, so he clearly has money. But his agent still asked the Eagles to raise his salary to $25 million per year before the 2015 started, a startling figure for a quarterback with his resume.
He's played in 63 career games, the last 14 with the Eagles, and has 78 touchdowns and 52 interceptions.
Then-coach Chip Kelly did not honor the request from Bradford's agent, but Bradford does have some bargaining power because replacing him likely would mean taking a step back for the Eagles.
If he wants to win, Bradford will negotiate in good faith with Philadelphia and sign a deal close to his 2015 salary of $14 million. If not, he will either sign elsewhere or hurt the Eagles' chances of putting a proper supporting cast around him.
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