Arizona Cardinals: Rumor grows that Sam Bradford benched himself

Weird things happened last week for the Arizona Cardinals. None more so than when they curiously benched Sam Bradford.

It’s not so much that they made the decision to go to Josh Rosen. Everybody knew that was coming. It was only a matter of time. It was the timing of the decision. Rather than waiting until the second half or even the end of a quarter, they threw the rookie onto the field with the score 16-14 and minutes left in the game to face the dangerous Chicago Bears pass rush.

That’s about as bad a situation as any young QB can face in his first official snaps as a pro. The results were predictable. Rosen threw an interception on the first drive. Then on the final one near the end of the game, he was sacked on the last the play. This isn’t to say Bradford could’ve done any better but being a veteran with experience in those situations, it made more sense for him to get the ball, even if he was struggling.

Then matters got even stranger. Rosen took over as the starter, which was no surprise. What is a surprise is that Bradford wasn’t relegated to backup. Instead he became the #3 quarterback on the depth chart behind Mike Glennon. John Middlekauff of The Athletic hinted that he’d heard some whispers that the reason Bradford had been benched wasn’t a coaches’ decision. He’d simply said he wasn’t going back out.

Perhaps Bradford finally reached his breaking point

It’s easy to criticize Bradford for quitting. It’s a taboo word in sports, presuming this has truth to it. However, people should not forget. This man has endured a vicious beating for most of his career. Counting last week he’s been sacked 196 times. That’s not counting the other many hits he’s taken. He has multiple knee injuries he’s suffered through and various aches and pains. There’s only so much the human body can withstand before the brain says enough.

The Bears hit him a lot in that game, and after causing the crucial fumble on him that got them back into the mix, it’s likely his psyche finally broke. Maybe he said he couldn’t go back out. Maybe the coaches saw the writing on the wall. It’s impossible to know. All that was said after the game by Steve Wilks was he felt the offense needed a spark and Rosen was the one who might provide it. Either way, it’s history now.

Bradford may be stuck as the #3 guy the rest of the season and is a free agent in 2019. It would not be the least bit shocking if he chose to retire at that point.