Finally, the Sam Bradford saga is over. On Monday, after a couple of his teammates predicted the end, the quarterback himself made it official, ending one of the strangest standoffs in recent memory.
Through his agent, Bradford released a statement that announced his return to the team. He also tried to repair the damage he created when he reportedly demanded a trade just weeks ago. Bradford says he's now "committed" to the Eagles.
So, congratulations are in order. The Eagles front office deserves a pat on the back for their handling of this awkward situation. You can argue their decision to trade up to grab Carson Wentz was foolish -- it might've been -- and you can argue their decision to re-sign Bradford was dumb -- it might've been -- but they've managed to survive the fallout from those two decisions.
When Bradford requested a trade, the Eagles balked. They didn't settle for a bad deal to dispatch a headache, even when Bradford remained away from the team. Meanwhile, Bradford stayed quiet. His agent, Tom Condon, spoke on his behalf and talked about how Bradford wanted to be the long-term solution for a team and how a competition between Bradford and Wentz wouldn't really be fair to his client.
Still, the Eagles refused to budge. And the public certainly didn't seem to side with the middling seventh-year veteran who's earning $22 million in guaranteed money.
So, the good news for Bradford: He's 28 and can still be someone's long-term solution at quarterback. As long as he can win the starting job over Wentz and play at a high-level, he'll be given another chance next year with some other quarterback-needy team. That's a big IF, of course, when it comes to Bradford, but that's really his only move at this point.
More good news: He's going to make a ton of money, regardless if he wins the starting gig. It's really not too hard to be "committed" to someone when that someone is paying you $22 million for your commitment.