Ever the gambler, Chip Kelly is all-in on Sam Bradford.
The Eagles coach declared that he wants Bradford to continue to guide the offense for years to come, according to philly.com.
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"We've always wanted Sam here. We wouldn't have traded for him if we thought he was going to be here for [only] a year," Kelly said.
Bradford, who will be a free agent after the season, has made more of a case for the Eagles to keep him over the last six games he's started (and finished), as Philadelphia is 5-1 in those contests.
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After the first seven weeks of the season, Bradford ranked 34th among 37 NFL quarterback, with a passer rating of 76.4, according to csnphilly.com.
Since that low mark, Bradford has been eighth in the league with a 97.5 passer rating.
"I just think Sam as a whole has progressed as the season's gone along," Kelly said when asked about Bradford's improved footwork. "It takes a long while to play quarterback in this league; there's so many things you have to get. When we got Sam, we knew ... that it was going to take time. You look at any quarterback playing at a really high level right now and they've been playing in the same system for years, not for months, and that's what Sam's case is -- he's just been playing in our system for months.
"I just see improvement from Sam on a weekly basis that gets you excited about him. I thought he threw the ball extremely well [Sunday]. We could have helped him a little bit better -- I thought we had too many drops that would have extended a lot of things for us. I think Sam has improved in all aspects."
Kelly pointed out that the norm in the league has been that the most successful quarterbacks have been with the same system for years.
"Name a quarterback who's playing well right now and then look at how many years he's been in that system," Kelly said. "Very rarely is it a first-year player that does that. Now whether he's moving into a system or whether he's a rookie coming into the league.
"Andy Dalton's playing at a really high level, but now what year is he in Cincinnati's system? [Fifth.] Look at how well Cam [Newton] is playing and look what year that is for him in Carolina. It's five years.
"Then you look at the Rodgers, the Brees, the Bradys, the Roethlisbergers, the guys that are playing really, really well right now, it's because they've got experience, and it's something you can't manufacture, you have to let it play out."
Bradford is making $13 million in the final year of his rookie contract. He could command as much as $20 million next year if Philadelphia decides to designate the franchise tag on him, rather than sign him to a long-term contract.
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