Quarterback Battles: Philadelphia Eagles
In a flurry of offseason moves, Chip Kelly brought in three quarterbacks, one of them being Mark Sanchez returning on a two-year deal. Kelly also brought in former first round pick Sam Bradford in a trade with the St. Louis Rams, which sent away former starter Nick Foles, and former college football star Tim Tebow. If you had told any Eagles fan five years ago that they’d have Bradford, Sanchez, Tebow, and Matt Barkley they would probably be ecstatic. At this point, all of these guys careers have skipped a track, which leaves Eagles fans slightly on edge.
Lets examine the options available for Chip Kelly and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur heading into the 2015 season.
Sam Bradford
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What else is there to say about Bradford? The former first overall has all the arm strength in the world, but his knee’s are such a concern. Tight End Zach Ertz, who played his college ball with Andrew Luck in college, says Bradford has the strongest arm he has ever seen. Chip Kelly prides himself on having his players as physically fit they can be, so hopefully Bradford is drinking those smoothies. He should have the inside track for the starting job, but health will be the decider of that.
Mark Sanchez
While Sam Bradford is the presumptuous Eagles quarterback, Mark Sanchez is in no way giving Bradford the job. Sanchez got his chance to start last season when Nick Foles broke his collar bone, but played inconsistent throughout his starts. Against the Panthers during prime-time, Sanchez looked like the early first round pick he was several years ago. Against the likes of Seattle and Dallas, Sanchez looked like a shell of his self. He returned to Philadelphia with the promise of a quarterback competition, so look for him to give his all during the preseason.
Tim Tebow
The Tebow-circus has made its way to Philadelphia. While the media hype wont be as out of control as it was in New York or Denver, the former Florida quarterbacks name is still a fan favorite and will draw interest. While Tebow won’t be a starter for the Eagles, his potential role as a two-point conversion specialist is just as interesting, in my opinion. Even though the Eagles extra-point proposal didn’t pass, Tebow should still be a valuable asset in midnight green during the 2015 season.
Matt Barkley
Barkley is most likely the odd-man out for the Birds. The team tried to trade him, and were nearly successful, to the Miami Dolphins where he most likely would have competed for the back-up job with Matt Moore and Josh Freeman. The former USC star made one of the worst decisions ever to stay in college, which prevented him from most likely going fourth overall in the draft. With a weak final season, Barkley was selected with the first pick of the fourth round. Expect him to be one of the last guys Chip Kelly cuts in the preseason and end up as a teams third string QB.