PHILADELPHIA -- On the plus side, the Philadelphia Eagles head coach talked to the media at the NFL scouting combine.
For the past three years, Chip Kelly decided not to speak at the annual scouting expo in Indianapolis. This year, Kelly is not speaking on behalf of the San Francisco 49ers.
On the negative side, new Eagles coach Doug Pederson didn’t say much that you could pin down. He said the Eagles have had contract talks with quarterback Sam Bradford, but it was unclear how serious the negotiations are.
“If he wants to be in Philadelphia, he will be,” Pederson said.
That could mean the Eagles are offering a market contract, which would be in the neighborhood of $18 million per season. Or it could mean the Eagles made a more modest offer -- a shorter-term deal worth $14 to $16 million per season.
If Bradford really wants to be in Philadelphia, he can take it. If Bradford (and his agent, Tom Condon) want to get the biggest possible contract, they can take their chances in free agency.
Pederson likely wouldn’t have worded things that way if the Eagles had any intention of using the franchise tag on Bradford. That would not be consistent with saying the decision depends on whether Bradford “wants to be” an Eagle.
The whole point of the franchise tag is to remove the player’s freedom of choice.
Pederson and Howie Roseman, the executive vice president of football operations, said they have a backup plan at quarterback. That is consistent with their comments ever since the Eagles dismissed Kelly and hired Pederson.
If they can retain Bradford at a reasonable price, they will. If his asking price is too high, they will move on to Plan B. That is sensible enough. As Roseman put it, you always have to have a backup plan.
“You’re competing with 31 other teams,” he said.
But that approach certainly doesn’t indicate any serious commitment to Bradford. They’d like to have him back. They’re not determined to have him back. They’re not treating him like a franchise quarterback they are determined to build their team around.
In fairness, the Eagles have a history of paying their quarterbacks the going rate for the position. They were quick to extend Donovan McNabb’s rookie contract back in 2002. McNabb signed a 12-year, $115-million deal in September of his fourth season.
After McNabb was traded to Washington in 2010, the Eagles quickly gave successor Kevin Kolb a new contract with $10.7 million in guaranteed money.
A year later, with Kolb traded away, the Eagles signed new starter Michael Vick to a six-year deal worth about $100 million.
Last season, the Eagles paid Bradford $13 million to be their starter. So the team’s history suggests it will not try to get a starting quarterback for less than the market demands.
There may be a disagreement between the Eagles and Bradford’s camp about exactly what the market for the quarterback is.
The Eagles could pay Bradford $20 million on a franchise-tag contract. They’re choosing not to do that, which indicates they think his fair market value is less than that.
How much less? That is the issue the Eagles and Bradford have to work out. It may depend on whether Bradford “wants to be in Philadelphia” at all.