The Philadelphia Eagles did not make a big trade at the NFL draft to get Marcus Mariota and despite rumors of Sam Bradford getting traded to the Cleveland Browns, Chip Kelly hung on to his quarterback and took a wideout in Nelson Agholor and now he could start for the team and this comes as a Matt Barkley trade could be an option after signing Tim Tebow in free agency.
The Eagles were rumored to be interested in Mariota, but now that the draft is over, Kelly is moving forward with Bradford as the quarterback. According to the NFL network, Kelly said yes that it was "safe to start selling Bradford jerseys" for Eagles fans, as he will be the top quarterback on the depth chart this season. Speculation about Bradford started to run rampant as the draft got closer, but the Eagles did not make a big move and now they have Agholor as a main option on offense.
The team now may look at trading Matt Barkley at some point in the offseason, as the team brought in Tim Tebow on a free agent deal. According to Pro Football Talk, Tebow is expected to compete for the third string job and Barkley's hold on the position is "not secure". The Eagles signed back Mark Sanchez this offseason and he comes in after starting games last season while Nick Foles was injured. Barkley only threw one pass and Kelly likely wants to try and get Tebow involved, using his unique set of skills as an offensive weapon.
Kelly may wait until the summer to make a move, as Bradford is still rehabbing and the team may need extra quarterbacks on the roster. But once training camp starts and the season gets closer, teams may deal with injuries and the market for a solid backup or prospect like Barkley could heat up for Kelly. According to the Miami Herald, the Eagles and Dolphins talked a deal with Barkley earlier in the offseason.
According to USA Today, the Eagles did make an attempt to get Mariota at the draft by trading up, but the deal never came close to happening. The Eagles were mentioned the most in the lead up to the draft as a team that could trade up for Mariota, but the Titans ended up taking the quarterback with the number two selection. The Eagles, Cleveland Browns, San Diego Chargers and Chicago Bears all were considered potential landing spots if the Titans traded out of the second overall pick.
The Browns were interested in Bradford before he even was traded to the Eagles, but the team was not able to acquire him. The team felt they had a "good chance" to get Bradford during the draft, but clearly the moves the Eagles considered making did not work out. The Browns were interested in upgrading at quarterback over Josh McCown and Johnny Manziel, but Ray Farmer did not make any major moves at the draft.
Kelly now says that Bradford will be the quarterback for the Eagles this season. Bradford is coming off of two knee surgeries and the Eagles are hoping that he can hold up for the majority of the season as the starter.
