Philadelphia Eagles: Is Sam Bradford on his way to being a NY Giant?

After failing to secure a trade Sam Bradford has been released by Arizona, but could the ex-Philadelphia Eagles’ QB soon be calling plays in New York?

Four years ago, Sam Bradford was the Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback, and now, he’s unemployed.

The NFL is like the wild, wild west, man.

After joining the Arizona Cardinals earlier this year, a few months after being unceremoniously passed over by his former team, the Minnesota Vikings in free agency, Bradford once again became the bridge quarterback for a team looking to get younger at the sports most important position.

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While Josh Rosen is far from elite at this point in his career, though to be fair, how could anyone be behind that offensive line, he provides far more upside as opposed to a soon-to-be-31 quarterback who’s only played 16 games in a season twice.

And after signing an incentive-laden contract that paid him a roster bonus of as much as $300,000 for each game he was active for, Bradford quickly found himself on the bench. Eight weeks and a failed trade attempt later and Bradford’s time in the desert had run his course: Just like that, Sam Bradford became an unrestricted free agent.

Now could this mid-season release be the final straw for Bradford and result in the journeyman veteran hanging up his sleeves after eight up-and-down seasons in the league? Sure, that’s possible, especially when you consider that he’s already earned almost $130 million so far over his incredibly lucrative NFL career, but you can never truly quantify a player’s desire to, well, play, and after being a few plays away from being a true franchise quarterback more than once, it’s entirely possible that the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner and 2010 NFL Rookie of the Year may want one final chance to make a name for himself in a league where a good quarterback can conceivably play until he’s 40.

If that’s the case, Bradford may want to place a call to his old friend and former coach Pat Shurmur.

From spending time together under Chip Kelly in 2015 to their collective resurgence in Minnesota over the 2016 and 2017 NFL seasons, Shurmur has been responsible for some of Bradford’s best professional seasons, and could potentially help to squeak a few more years out of the 31-year-old’s football glory days.

And while Bradford isn’t going to make anyone forget about Sam Bradford anytime soon, he is almost certainly an upgrade over the New York Giants’ current starter Eli Manning.

While Manning is far from even possible at this point in his career, as this will almost certainly go down as his final season in the NFL, the Giants really don’t have a better option to go with to close out the 2018 NFL season, especially after rookie QB Kyle Lauletta was arrested during a traffic stop earlier this month.

Say what you will about Bradford, but he’s far from controversial.

With ample experience in Shurmur’s system, and a more than competent average of 3,800 yards with 68 completion percentage over their tenure together, a mid-season marriage between Sam Bradford and the New York Giants could be a significant boon for both parties and help to reestablish their collective identities before December.