Sam Bradford returned to the Eagles on Monday and rescinded his request for a trade. Now, it's time for the real business to begin.
The Eagles can focus on football, even in its preliminary stages, for the 2016 season now that they have all of their quarterbacks at voluntary workouts.
For Bradford in particular, this is about bringing the focus back to football as well, when the focus never really should have shifted in the first place.
Bradford had a modestly successful season for the Eagles in 2015. An 8-8 record, 8-6 when he started, and decent numbers were enough to earn a new contract during the offseason. Guaranteed money too, a whopping $22 million over the next two seasons.
That's where Bradford's spectacle over the Eagles selection of Carson Wentz with the second-overall pick was completely unnecessary.
Howie Roseman and the Eagles knew exactly what they were doing when negotiation the length of Bradford's new contract — enough time to satisfy the current quarterback by giving him enough of a chance to prove he could start for anyone in the league but short enough that they weren't trapped for the long haul. So with Bradford locked up for two years, the Eagles then made the deal that would help them land their future quarterback and give him time to mold into a starter.
Bradford was understandably angry with the move. No player wants to hear they are essentially being replaced. But the writing was already on the wall for the former No. 1 overall pick.
The thing with Bradford is that he is making elite quarterback money when he is far from being an elite quarterback. For all of Bradford's college success, his injury history is longer than his list of accomplishments in the NFL. He signed back with the Eagles just minutes after the franchise tag period expired, just prior to free agency. That doesn't mean Bradford had much of a market anyway.
Even if Bradford had been available in free agency, every team with a quarterback need filled it by taking a quarterback in the Draft. And if Bradford had been available, it is highly unlikely he would have been given more guaranteed money than the Eagles were willing to dish out.
So for nearly the last month, the story has been about Bradford and Wentz and Roseman and Doug Pederson, each with their own little piece of involvement in the story.
Bradford was the central figure, the player who didn't want to face the music about where his career is and the fact that the Eagles were not trying to get rid of him by any stretch. Wentz was simply the new guy, the player brought in to restore hope to a franchise that desperately needed something to get excited about amid a summer of change and clean-up from an era gone bad.
Roseman, at this point, was just trying to cover all the bases — have a quarterback that was capable of starting now and potentially winning if he could perform and stay healthy and have a good team in place around him. By all standards, Roseman did a fairly good job with what he was given, but has taken some risks on both quarterbacks that are either going to launch the Eagles back into contention in the coming years or send them plummeting into purgatory even further.
Pederson, as the new head coach and the starter replaced by Donovan McNabb, was supposed to be the person within the franchise that understood this situation the most. With Bradford holding out for the last three weeks, there has been no time for Pederson to get into the head of the quarterback to relate to the situation and potentially offer any advice.
So as Bradford returns, the Eagles move on. For Bradford, the task is simple: go on the field, work hard and compete to prove that this team, the 2016 Eagles, are indeed his to lead. Challenge and competition never hurt anybody. If for any reason Carson Wentz is on the field as the starting quarterback in the 2016 season, it will be because he earned the chance.
That option only grew more possible without Bradford around. With Bradford back, the starting job is his, like Roseman and Pederson have said, unless proven otherwise.
With the focus back on football, Bradford can get back to proving Roseman, Pederson and the Eagles right.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
