AP

The Eagles don’t appear to be interested in using the franchise tag on quarterback Sam Bradford, but one of his teammates is a big believer in his ability to lead the team in a post-Chip Kelly world.

Via Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com, Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins was unequivocal in his praise of Bradford, saying he could lead them to a Super Bowl.

“If you protect Sam and give him weapons to use,” Jenkins said, “I think he can be one of those quarterbacks to win a championship.”

That wasn’t always apparent last year, though Bradford did look more and more competent as the year went on. Staying healthy was a plus as well, after what he went through the two previous years in St. Louis. Perhaps getting more stable on his twice-repaired ACL was the difference, but Jenkins said Bradford was also more comfortable in the locker room, which helped.

“Early, especially in the first half of the season, I don’t know how comfortable he was in the locker room or being in the role of the leader on the team when he had just gotten here, Jenkins said. “He’s got new guys. Then he got hurt, and when he came back, he decided to take the team by the horns basically. He really started to be a lot more vocal, he started to break down the huddles, he started to speak to the team before every game. When he did that, he gained the trust of the teammates and he started playing better. The back half of the season, he played really well for us.

“So, from a player’s perspective, we definitely got behind Sam in that back stretch and really would like to see him back moving forward. We think he can be the leader and the quarterback that we need.”

There was a bright-line difference between the first seven weeks of Bradford (62 percent completions, 76.4 passer rating) and the rest of the season (68 percent, 97.0).

And that kind of play the back half of the season will also make him valuable to others as he’s about to hit the market, though not valuable enough for the Eagles to invest $20 million for a single year, or to allow him to think that’s where the negotiation starts.