Sam Bradford is in an audition. The quarterback came to the Philadelphia Eagles with one year remaining on his current contract. He was coming off back-to-back ACL tears with a lot to prove on the football field. There was a brief period of time where the Eagles were going to extend Bradford's contract immediately, buying in on the hype around him. That did not happen and might not happen as the quarterback continues to struggle in Chip Kelly's offense.
Kelly is standing by Bradford regardless of what the critics are saying, but the quarterback has not locked down the starting job for the team in the long-term outlook. Bradford has nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions through seven weeks of play. He has struggled to make the right throws. He is not mobile enough for Kelly. He simply looks uncomfortable in the system. According to ESPN's Phil Sheridan, it is a real possibility that Bradford is on the move in 2016 leaving the Eagles looking elsewhere for help.
Kelly has stood by Bradford and will continue to stand by Bradford simply because he has no other options. Tim Tebow, Nick Foles and Matt Barkley are gone. Mark Sanchez is as big of a turnover machine as Bradford is. Kelly must stand by the quarterback and he stresses there will be no changes at the position.
"No, not at all," Kelly said, via NJ.com. "Because I think our quarterback is playing well. I think our quarterback is playing well. I'm pleased with Sam. Very pleased with Sam."
To Bradford's credit, he is not getting as much help from his teammates as he should. The offensive line has struggled to protect the quarterback. Jordan Matthews is struggling with dropped passes. DeMarco Murray has not found consistency. Nelson Agholor and Ryan Mathews are dealing with injuries. The help has not been consistent enough to help Bradford excel as the starter. Matthews is aware that his struggles are not helping the team out. His dropped passes set the offense back against the Carolina Panthers and stalled the unit out. He told the media that during the bye week he is focused on getting back on track with his play. Kelly made it clear that it is mistakes plagueing the Philadelphia Eagles and not a lack of talent on the team.
"I don't think it's [a lack of] talent," Kelly said, via CSNPhilly.com. "I just think it's sometimes a concentration issue with some of those guys. I think sometimes they may actually be thinking too much instead of just relaxing and going to play. Some of them need to just take a big, deep breath and do what we know they can do. And they have made some big-time catches in games for us and can continue to do that for us."
