The Philadelphia Eagles are coming into training camp with Sam Bradford as the starter, but Mark Sanchez may get the chance to compete with Bradford to start for Chip Kelly and this comes as the trade or release of either Tim Tebow or Matt Barkley is likely after the preseason, as Kelly may only hang onto three quarterbacks on the depth chart for the 2015 season.
The Eagles pulled a trade for Bradford this offseason for Nick Foles and Kelly also made sure to sign back Sanchez after was the main backup last season. Foles missed half the year with a shoulder injury and that allowed Sanchez to step in and start for the second part of the season. Kelly liked the way Sanchez played and while he did not put up crazy numbers, he was very solid and that is why the team brought him back in free agency on a two year deal.
According to CSN Philly, Kelly said that Bradford and Sanchez are "openly competing" to start this season in training camp. Bradford is coming in still recovering from knee surgery and if he is not fully healthy, Sanchez likely will take the majority of first team reps. Sanchez did that in offseason workouts and Kelly feels comfortable with him under center. Bradford was not prepared to participate in full team drills in minicamp and that could give Sanchez enough of an opening to start for the Eagles this season if he is strong in camp.
Check here for more on the battle between Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez to start in training camp and for more on the competition between Tim Tebow and Matt Barkley to win the third string job.
Tim Tebow and Matt Barkley are battling for the third string job this season and there is a chance that the loser of the battle could be traded or released. Barkley was on the trade block earlier in the offseason and he could be in danger of losing his job from last season. Barkley only threw one pass last season despite Foles being out for half the season and that either meant supreme confidence in Sanchez for Kelly or a lack thereof in Barkley. Either way, it's likely that one of the QBs will be gone, as Kelly may not want to carry four QBs this year.
According to NJ.com, Eliot Shor-Parks made a prediction that Tebow will be the player who sticks, as he gives Kelly more value as a third string quarterback. Tebow can be used on specialized plays and in short yardage situations, while Barkley is just a serviceable backup QB with no real added value. NBC Washington's Dianna Marie Russini first reported the news on Tebow coming in for the Eagles and it came after the team shopped Barkley in a trade and looked at dealing him to the Dolphins.
The Eagles have made a number of moves this offseason and they have added Bradford, DeMarco Murray and Kiko Alonso as new players. The team moved on from Nick Foles along with their leading rusher in LeSean McCoy and now Kelly is putting his stamp on the roster after a couple years as head coach after being given control over personnel this offseason. Kelly reportedly was targeting Marcus Mariota even after already trading Nick Foles for Sam Bradford, but that deal never went down or came close to happening.
