When the Eagles traded for Sam Bradford, we all basically had the same reaction.

The Eagles did what? Nick Foles and draft picks? That can’t be right.

Oh, but it was right. Chip Kelly had looked over the QB landscape and decided that Sam Bradford gave him the best hope of landing an outstanding QB. Sam was a former #1 overall pick. He had talent. Injuries caused the Rams to be willing to move on from him. As Chip has shown, injuries don’t scare him away from players.

The more Chip explained the move and the more clips we saw of Bradford, the more we began to at least see this wasn’t the insane move many of us thought it was upon first hearing the news. Whether you agreed with it or not, there was at least some logic to Chip’s thinking.

Bradford won over a lot of people with his performance in the preseason. He was outstanding, although in limited exposure. Still, he lit up starting defenses, not backups. And he took hits. Terrell Suggs gave him a big cheap shot (how’s football karma working for you Terrell?) and Bradford got back up, slowly.

The regular season could not have been more different. Bradford suddenly looked lost. The Eagles run game was a mess. There were dropped passes all over the place. Things were a bit off, to put it mildly.

After an 0-2 start, the Eagles won 3 of 4 games. Bradford threw 3 TDs in the only loss in that span. He still made some bad mistakes, but you could at least see some reason to really start believing in him. Bradford got hurt a couple of weeks later, opening the door for Mark Sanchez.

I won’t lie. I wondered if Sanchez would be better than Bradford. Sanchez showed talent last year. He had almost 9 games in this system to build on in the offseason. I hoped that might lead to better play from him. Oops. Sanchez proved to be the very same guy he was last year. Talented, but too flawed. The Eagles lost all 3 games he played in.

Bradford came back for the game at New England. He led the Eagles to an upset (with tons of help from the D and STs) and then beat Buffalo this week. Bradford is 6-5 for the year. He’s 6-3 since those two bad games to begin the year. Bradford is 6-2 in games he starts and finishes.

There are some good numbers as well. He has only thrown one INT in the last 4 games (and that wasn’t his fault). He has a rating of 99 or higher in 3 of those game. He’s now handling pressure better.

Sam Bradford’s passer rating under pressure in his last four games (108) is twice as good as it was in his first seven games (54), per @PFF. — Josh Paunil (@JoshPaunil) December 15, 2015

Beyond the wins and the numbers, Bradford is also becoming more of a vocal leader. QBs don’t have to be that way, but it does help, especially when he’s new. There is no history of performance for players to look to. They need tangible signs that Bradford sees this as his team. He’s given that to them in recent weeks.

Chip said in his press conference this week that he wants Bradford to be the QB beyond this year. He mentioned that you don’t trade for a player for just one season.

Bradford then got a ton of questions about his future on Wednesday at his PC. He did not say anything, deferring to the offseason as a time to think about his contract and future. Is this a player showing how focused he is? Or was Bradford sending a sign that he doesn’t want to be an Eagle?

I think Bradford is trying to stay focused on the here and now, but I also think he’s being smart about his future. If he talks openly about wanting to be an Eagle, he takes away bargaining leverage when there are contract negotiations in the offseason. If Bradford convinces the Eagles he’s open minded about where to play, that makes it tougher on them.

I’ve gone back and forth on the merits of keeping Bradford. Chip said something the other day that stuck with me, though. He talked about good QBs having time in a specific system. Brees knows his offense inside-out. The same is true for Carson Palmer. And Russell Wilson. And Aaron Rodgers. Learning the playbook is one thing. Mastering it takes time and experience.

The Eagles have invested one offseason and one season in Bradford learning their system. If Chip returns and the offense is the same, there is real value in having Bradford return as well.

Bradford has played well in recent weeks, but he has a long way to go before he gets to the level where he’s worth huge money. The Eagles need to be careful not to overpay him (within reason). Don’t lose a QB you like over a little money. Those guys have a transcendent value.

The current version of Sam Bradford isn’t good enough to lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl. The guy we saw in the summer looked much better. Defenses were simpler and the Eagles just performed like a machine. Bradford has improved over the course of the season. And he’s still hurt by drops. The bad INTs have gone away (knock on wood). As he gets more comfortable and his chemistry with the receivers improves, Bradford should continue to improve.

“Should” is the key word there. As with the team, we need to see the final 3 games. Bradford could fall apart. He could play lights out. Reality says he’s more likely to be in the middle. Let’s just hop he’s closer to the second option than the first.

It will be interesting to follow this situation in the offseason. If the Eagles decide Bradford is their guy, they can spend resources building around him instead of looking for their QB.

The better Bradford plays in the final 3 games, the more he will cost. I think that would be a good problem for Chip and Jeff Lurie to have to deal with in the offseason.

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