The Philadelphia Eagles have been encouraged by what they have seen from Sam Bradford in camp workouts so far this offseason, but the quarterback is not yet fully healthy and that has left Mark Sanchez to take most of the first team reps for Chip Kelly, but Bradford is slotted in as the starter along with DeMarco Murray and Jordan Matthews, while rookie Nelson Agholor has also been impressive.
The Eagles traded for Bradford in the offseason in a deal with the Rams for Nick Foles and while he is coming back from knee surgery, Kelly felt that he was the best option for Philadelphia to win in 2015. Bradford is a former first round pick and adding him was one of many moves that the Eagles have made this offseason. LeSean McCoy was traded away and Demarco Murray was signed along with Ryan Mathews and now Philly could have one of the deeper backfields in football with Darren Sproles also on the roster.
The biggest concern for the Eagles heading into the season is Bradford's health and he is still recovering from the knee surgery he had last year. According to CBS Sports, Bradford is "still hobbled" at Eagles OTA workouts and so far he has been able to take part in 7-on-7 drills, but not full workouts. The team signed Mark Sanchez back in the offseason to serve as the backup and he proved last season he could handle Kelly's offense. Foles went down and Sanchez ended up starting eight games and now he will be the first backup ahead of Tim Tebow and/or Matt Barkley for the Eagles behind Bradford.
Bradford is still workout out with a "large brace on his leg" and he likely will continue using that until he is fully recovered. Bradford has had two major knee surgeries in the past and Kelly likely wants Bradford to be ready for training camp. Bradford has time to learn the offense, but Sanchez has experience with it already and he is missing out on reps while dealing with his injury recovery.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported last week that Bradford was "sharp" on his throws and he looked "more mobile" than in early OTA workouts this offseason. Bradford was able to participate in some drills, but it has been Sanchez with the first team offense and even if Bradford does get back soon, having Sanchez get more experience there is a good thing. Sanchez came in when Foles went down last season and he easily could end up starting again with the injury history of Bradford.
The Eagles took Nelson Agholor in the first round of the draft and the team is expecting him to be a number two receiver along with Jordan Matthews in the starting lineup. The team has Josh Huff as well and Matthews is coming in after a strong rookie season and Agholor has so far been impressive in camp. Murray is expected to be the starter over Ryan Mathews and there is a good chance that Sproles also gets significant playing time for Chip Kelly. The Eagles missed the playoffs last season despite winning 10 games again.
