The Philadelphia Eagles are heading into training camp with Sam Bradford as the starter, but Chip Kelly may give Mark Sanchez the chance to start if he plays well and this comes as Tim Tebow and Matt Barkley are battling for third string and the loser of that competition could be gone in a trade or could see their release by Chip Kelly after the preseason.
The Eagles have been one of the most active teams in the offseason and heading into camp they still have some major questions. Bradford has been recovering from knee surgery and is expected to be ready for camp, but if he is not 100 percent, Sanchez will get work as the number one QB. According to CSN Philly, Chip Kelly said that Bradford and Sanchez are "openly competing" for the starting quarterback position.
While Bradford likely will get a leg up since the team acquired him in a big trade with Nick Foles, if Sanchez plays well, he could push ahead. Sanchez has been showing leadership this offseason, as he is leading a west coast workout for the Eagles, according to Pro Football Talk. NJ.com reports that Sanchez is working out with a number of offensive players, including Barkley, Darren Sproles, Jordan Matthews and GJ Kinne.
According to Pro Football Talk, Tebow and Barkley are battling for the third string position and there is a chance that Tebow could push Barkley out of his job from last season. Tebow was signed in the offseason and he gives some added value to Kelly, as he can use Tebow in goal line situations and on two point conversions, while Barkley is a serviceable backup and that's it.
Check here for more on the Eagles, the battle with Sanchez and Bradford and the possibility of Barkley or Tebow winning the third string job.
Kelly previously flirted with making a play for Marcus Mariota in the draft, but that did not happen and now the team has Bradford and Sanchez competing. The Eagles roster is looking very different, as players like Nick Foles, LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin and Trent Cole are all gone. The Eagles shook up the front office this offseason, giving Chip Kelly full reign over personnel and now Howie Roseman will work more on the business side of thing
Kelly has put himself to work since taking over and ESPN previously reported that Kelly now "oversees" player personnel decisions after the removal of Tom Gamble. Gamble was a buffer between Kelly and Roseman, with Adam Schefter describing Gamble as a "Kelly guy" and some have called this a power play move by Kelly. Either way, Kelly now has more control over the roster and with the way he runs his offense and pushes his defense, he will have the chance to bring in players that fit his schemes better. He brought in Kiko Alonso and shipped out McCoy and now he has the QB battle to deal with.
ESPN Eagles reporter Phil Sheridan described the previous set up with Roseman bringing in the players that fit Kelly's "vision" and now Kelly will have more say over decisions. Kelly reportedly was not happy with Foles overall this season and since his regime did not draft Foles, it was not too tough for Kelly to deal him for Bradford. Sanchez is back and Matt Barkley is on the roster, but Kelly likely will only keep one of Barkley or Tim Tebow.
