High-flying Bradford returns to his former team Philadelphia as Minnesota top gun
>> LOS ANGELES: Sam Bradford returns to Philadelphia tomorrow aiming to extend Minnesota’s unbeaten start to the season in the latest twist to what has been a surreal year for the former Eagles quarterback.
Seven months ago, the 28-year-old put pen to paper on a two-year US$36 million contract with Philadelphia which encouraged him to believe he would head into the season as the Eagles signal-caller.
Within weeks, however, Bradford’s future in Philadelphia was cast into question when the Eagles brokered a deal with the Cleveland Browns for second pick in the draft — and promptly snapped up highly rated rookie Carson Wentz.
While Wentz’s arrival effectively set the clock ticking on Bradford’s longterm future, Bradford’s shock move to Minnesota in September — following a serious knee injury to the Vikings Teddy Bridgewater — remains one of the blockbuster deals of the year.
Since t hen, t he Vikings and Bradford have gone from strength to strength, shrugging off the loss of Bridgewater and injury to running back Adrian Peterson to remain the only unbeaten side in the National Football League heading into week seven.
No-one is more surprised at the way the year has unfolded than Bradford.
“I’ve seen a lot in my seven years [in the NFL],” Bradford said.
“I’ve learned to expect the unexpected. But this was not something I expected. I was ready and excited to be in Philly this year. Getting traded wasn’t even on my radar.”
The whirlwind nature of his departure from the Eagles — he was at home in Oklahoma on Sept 3 when he got the call informing he had been traded to the Vikings and needed to fly to Minnesota ASAP — meant he never got an opportunity to say a proper farewell to his Eagles teammates.
“That part was tough,” said Bradford, who has averaged nearly 250 passing yards a game in his four starts for the Vikings this season.
“When you spend so much time with coaches and players, you build relationships and friendships on and off the field. When something happens so sudden like that, there’s always a part of you that’s a little down after that.”
Eagles coach Doug Pederson admits even he was wrong-footed by the speed with which Bradford was traded to the Vikings, saying he fully expected him to start for Philadelphia this season.
“I was a little shocked,” Pederson said. “All along my plan was to have Sam start, with Chase [Daniel] No.2 and Carson [Wentz] No.3.”
Thus far the move has been winwin for both the Vikings and the Eagles. Wentz has enjoyed a 3-2 start, throwing for 1,186 yards in five games and building a passer rating of 99.9%.
Elsewhere this weekend, the NFL’s international series in London will break new ground with the Los Angeles Rams facing the New York Giants at English rugby’s citadel Twickenham.
With the 5-1 Dallas Cowboys on a bye, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots will look to move to 6-1 when they travel to Pittsburgh to face a Steelers side missing the injured Ben Roethlisberger.
The Seattle Seahawks (4-1) meanwhile face a crucial divisional battle with the Arizona Cardinals (3-3).