The Philadelphia Eagles may look at the trade or release of Matt Barkley or Tim Tebow coming out of training camp this summer, as Chip Kelly is looking to start Sam Bradford ahead of Marc Sanchez and the loser of the third string quarterback battle could be out of a job and this comes as DeMarco Murray, Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor are starters on offense for Bradford.
The Eagles have some intriguing battles heading into training camp and at the quarterback position things are starting to become clear with a few weeks until workouts begin. According to Pro Football Talk, Bradford is hoping to be fully healthy for training camp and heading into the season it's likely that Kelly gets rid of either Barkley or Tebow to keep threw quarterbacks on the roster. For most of the offseason Bradford has been limited and that has allowed Sanchez to take first team reps in minicamp, while Tebow and Barkley are battling for the third spot.
The Eagles signed Tebow in the offseason and there were reports during the winter that Barkley was shopped in trades leading into the NFL draft. The team did not come close to trading Barkley, but they could look at a deal or his release if Tebow beats him out in training camp. Kelly brought in Tebow to compete to be the third string quarterback and right now it looks like Sanchez has a hold as the backup and could even push to start this season.
Last year the Eagles had Nick Foles injured for half the season and when he went down, Sanchez stepped in and started games for Philadelphia. Barkley threw only one pass last season and that production could hint at what Kelly is thinking heading into camp. Tebow gives the Eagles some more added value even if he is not a "conventional" quarterback, as he can be used in short yardage situations and two point conversions. Barkley is nothing more than a backup arm and if he doesn't impress in camp, he could be the odd man out of the QB situation.
CSN Philly reports that Kelly said that Bradford and Sanchez are "openly competing" for the starting job heading into training camp. Bradford has not been fully healthy yet and has been out of full team drills and that has allowed Sanchez to take the majority of first team reps in offseason workouts. While it's very likely that Bradford starts, there is chance that Sanchez could distinguish himself in camp as the better QB for Kelly. Last season Kelly had confidence in Sanchez and he started all of the games for the Eagles with Foles out.
Sanchez comes in with a strong understanding of the Kelly offense and he could get the starting nod early if Bradford is not fully healthy or if he gets injured. Bradford has not played a regular season game since 2013 and that came as he was injured in the middle of being on track for his best career season. Bradford had 14 touchdowns and four picks in 2013 before getting injured and he was completing a career best 60.7 percent of his passes. Bradford is getting paid nearly $13 million this season.