May 12, 2015
Matt Slocum/for PhillyVoice
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford answers a question during a news conference at the team's NFL football practice facility, Wednesday, March 11, 2015, in Philadelphia.
Yesterday, we posted the 10 players the Eagles can least afford to lose to injury. That list did not include Sam Bradford, which some readers argued. I probably should have included my reasoning on Bradford within that post, as it's an obvious omission, so I'll do that now.
1) Like I did with Michael Vick in the past, I just sort of expect that Sam Bradford isn't going to make it through the entire season in one piece. Here are the number of snaps he has played vs. the total possible number of snaps he could have played over the course of his five year career:
| Season | Snaps played | Possible snaps | Percentage |
| 2010 | 1034 | 1034 | 100% |
| 2011 | 691 | 1092 | 63.28% |
| 2012 | 1076 | 1084 | 99.26% |
| 2013 | 463 | 1019 | 45.44% |
| 2014 | 0 | 1037 | 0% |
| TOTAL | 3264 | 5266 | 61.98% |
Bradford has had 2/5 healthy seasons, and as we all know by now, he tore the ACL in the same knee twice within the last 17 months. If the season began today, he would not be ready to play. Bradford certainly could make it through the 2015 season without being injured, but obviously, it would surprise nobody if he didn't.
2) Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that if Bradford doesn't play at all in 2015, the Eagles receive a third-round pick back from the Rams. If he misses at least 50% of the snaps, the Eagles receive a fourth-round pick. That would soften the blow of an early season-ending injury.
3) Bradford is in the final year of his contract. If indeed he makes it through the season unscathed and plays reasonably well, what do you do with him? Do you sign an injury-prone QB coming off a reasonably good season in an offense that skews QB stats to a monster contract extension? There's still a huge risk in that, even if his 2015 season goes well. In other words, Bradford having a good-but-misleading season could help mire the Eagles in mediocrity going forward.
I don't see the Eagles as legitimate Super Bowl contenders in 2015, and I don't see Bradford as the long-term answer at quarterback. Therefore, I don't think his loss would really be all that devastating.
I understand the notion that Bradford being unexpectedly special this season is the only way the Eagles have any chance of doing great things in 2015, so there is certainly a valid argument there. I just don't see it. Of course, that probably means he'll be the Super Bowl MVP.
When the Eagles' preseason schedule was released, I was nervous that I'd be spending part of my summer in Green Bay covering Eagles-Packers joint practices. Thankfully, it will be Eagles-Ravens at the NovaCare Complex this August. The guy that I'm most interested in watching on the practice fields is WR Steve Smith, who is a notorious smack talker.
The Steve Smith - Cary Williams fight would have been fun.
Unless you live under a rock, Tom Brady was suspended four games by the league for his role in, you know, recidivist cheating. The Pats will lose a first-round pick in 2016 and a fourth-round pick in 2017. They'll also be fined $1 million. Good.
The Pats appear on the Eagles' schedule this season, but not until Week 13, when Brady will have long since returned. The team that could potentially catch a huge break is the Cowboys, who are the Patriots' fourth opponent. If the suspension does not come down after Brady appeals, Dallas will face Jimmy Garappolo instead of Brady.
The Redskins and Giants face the Pats Weeks 9 and 10, respectively.
Swearinger was a second round pick of the Texans in 2013. The Texans waived him yesterday. I remember watching Swearinger prior to the 2013 Draft, and there was an insane sequence he had against Arkansas. On three consecutive plays, he did the following:
1) Play one: Flagged 15 yards for a horse-collar tackle.
2) Play two: Flagged 15 yards again for a hit on a defenseless receiver.
3) Play three: Pick six, plus a 15 yard penalty for throwing the ball in the stands.
Just watch this:
Coming out of South Carolina, Swearinger was known as an in-the-box punishing hitter. The Eagles prefer safeties who are more adept in coverage. They want players who can play center field in single-high looks, and also drop down into the slot to cover receivers man-to-man.
Swearinger is also thought to have extremely questionable character concerns. But, #culture.
I do think he would be a good fit in the Eagles' defense in a dime linebacker role, but do not expect them to have any interest.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
