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JWeinCom on 07 September 2016
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theRepublic said:
JWeinCom said:

What available or soon to be available QBs were on the table?  Mark Sanchez is probably the best off the available players and... he's Mark Sanchez.

Vikings had absolutely no leverage in the situation.  The Eagles probably actually would have asked for more for Bradford if he wasn't already unhappy with them.  Bradford actually may be a slight upgrade over Bridgewater in the short term.  Plus, I think the Vikings only had Shaun Hill on the roster, so they were going to have to sign a backup anyway.  That could have been from the free agent market, but that'd be kind of a waste of money.  

Vikings felt like they had the talent to win now, and Shaun Hill wasn't going to do it for them, and nothing good was on the horizon.  It was a steep price to pay, but when you're stranded in the desert and water is 20 bucks a bottle, you gotta consider it.

It is the end of the preseason.  Lots of cuts happen then, and sometimes unexpected ones.  Sanchez was a good example, but looks like Dallas grabbed him.

Of course the Vikings had no leverage.  That is a reason to stand pat, not to make a move.  How is signing a free agent a waste of money?  They still have to pay Bradford, and gave up picks to get him on top of that.

Listen, I am a former Rams fan.  Bradford is a below average QB in this league.  And the Vikings gave up two(!) picks to get him.  One was a first rounder!  That is nuts.  I am not even sure Bradford is a big upgrade over Hill.  Especially not Week 1.  It will be interesting to see how long it takes Bradford to get comfortable in this offense.

The way the Vikings are currently built, they only need a game manager anyway.  Why spend so much capital for a game manager?

By the way, here is the number of games Bradford has played in his career (starting with rookie year): 16, 10, 16, 7, 0, 14.  All those picks for about a 50% chance he plays the whole season.

Starting caliber QBs, and even good backups, rarely get cut.  Sanchez is arguably an ok backup, but that's about it.  

Even a mediocre QB would cost about 3-4 million to sign, which isn't much less than they'd be paying Bradford this season since the Eagles are paying a lot of the contract.  So, spending 3-4 million for a QB you don't want to play is a waste of money compared to 7 million for an upgrade (which Bradford definitely is).  7 million is actually cheap for a starting caliber QB, even on Bradford's level.  

If Bradford plays well enough to make the playoffs, then the Vikings have him and Bridgewated under contract, which they could probably leverage to offset the trade. Even QBs that are just decent are a commodity in the nfl.   Depending the other team's needs, a second rounder would be likely, and a first round pick wouldn't be out of the question.  Of course, that's only if he plays well and stays reasonably healthy, but there is some potential value there, which they wouldn't have if they hired someone who was just going to hold the clipboard.  

Of course, not everyone is going to be playing the long game.  In the NFL "my starting QB was injured" is rarely an excuse for the coaching staff.  When expectations for the season are high, someone is taking the fall if it goes south.  So, it's hard to blame management for taking a risk.  Especially with a new stadium to fill, jobs were at risk.  

Compounding all of this is the fact that the eagles have a really soft schedule.  They have the luxury of playing both the NFC East, and the AFC South.  Neither of those divisions had a team with a winning record after taking division games our of the equation.  That makes this more of a win now situation.

 

 

I dunno if I would have necessarily taken the trade, but I could see the logic behind it.