The Philadelphia Eagles are expected to have Sam Bradford healthy for training camp this year and he may start over Mark Sanchez for Chip Kelly if his knee is fully recovered and this comes as Tim Tebow and Matt Barkley are competing for the third string job and there is a chance the loser of that battle could be released or traded this summer.
The Eagles traded for Bradford this offseason and he was not able to participate in full team workouts in OTAs and minicamp while coming back from knee surgery. Bradford is expected to be the starter, but Kelly said to CSN Philly that Sanchez and Bradford are "openly competing" for the starting job. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen, but Bradford needs to be healthy for the Eagles to have a true competition in camp if they want one and it appears that team thinks he will be.
According to Elliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com, a source close to the Eagles said that Bradford "should be ready to go" when training camp opens for the Eagles. The team has been cautious with Bradford this offseason and Kelly is hoping that he can stay healthy for the duration of 2015 after missing time the last two years with knee injuries. Bradford was held out of the full team workouts this offseason and it will be crucial for him to be healthy in training camp to get timing and chemistry right with the roster and Kelly's offensive system.
Sanchez has one advantage over Bradford in the sense that he has had an extra year to work with Kelly and he got extensive time last season running the offense. Sanchez stepped in and played half the season after Nick Foles was injured and if Bradford struggles or is not fully healthy into Week 1, Sanchez could end up as the starter. Kelly kept Sanchez this offseason and signed him to a two year deal and now he is a major insurance option if Bradford goes down.
What happens with Sanchez and Bradford in camp could have an effect on what Kelly does at third string, as Tim Tebow and Matt Barkley are battling it out for the job. While it looks like Tebow has the inside edge over Barkley after Barkley was mostly unimpressive in two years with the Eagles, if Bradford is not fully healthy or gets hurt in camp/preseason, Kelly could consider keeping Barkley over Tebow. While Barkley has not put up great numbers in limited time, he is more of a conventional quarterback than Tebow.
Shorr-Parks predicts that Tebow will end up making the roster and that looks like the likely move for Kelly. Even with Barkley being more conventional, Tebow has some added value to the roster with the plays he can make with his legs. Kelly can use Tebow in a number of ways, including on short yardage plays, two point conversions and as a decoy. Barkley does not offer that type of versatility and he may not even be a good option as a backup after throwing just one pass last season.
