Former NFL Executive: 'Eagles Fans Will Hold Breath' Every Time Bradford Takes Snap
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- As soon as Marcus Mariota officially became a Tennessee Titan last Thursday night, reality set in across the Delaware Valley. Sam Bradford is the Eagles' starting quarterback.
Phil Savage, a former Eagles' player personnel executive (2011-12) and Cleveland Browns general manager (2005-08), expressed his concerns for Bradford Monday on the 94WIP Morning Show.
"Well, it's been about the injuries," Savage said of Bradford, who is coming off of back-to-back ACL tears. "He's got arm talent and if he can stay on his feet he can be a good player in Philadelphia, but the whole organization and any Eagles fans are gonna hold their collective breath every time he receives the football in the shotgun formation and that's the part---it's gonna be a long, long year knowing that that's gonna be the case.
Listen: Phil Savage on the 94WIP Morning Show
"I would have had real reservations, I'll be honest," Savage said when asked if he would have acquired Bradford. "You win ten games a year, you're never going to be in position to get a bonafide blue-chip quarterback in the draft. So the only way to get a true arm talent, was to get somebody on the rebound. Sam Bradford was on the rebound."
Mariota was the elite quarterback prospect many thought, or hoped, Chip Kelly and the Eagles would strongly pursue in the draft. Speculation was Kelly would try to move up from No. 20 and acquire his former QB, but it never happened.
Savage says mortgaging the future for Mariota would have been detrimental, citing personnel advantages the Eagles have with Kelly and now, Ed Marynowitz.
"I actually believe Chip Kelly two months ago, when he said, 'Guys that ship has already sailed,'" Savage said, regarding trading up for Mariota. "Chip Kelly comes from Oregon. Even the players that he didn't get to Eugene [Oregon], there were a lot of players that he knew very well that ended up at SC [University of Southern California], or UCLA, or Arizona State, or what have you. [Eagles Vice President of Player Personnel] Ed Marynowitz, the new personnel director there came from Alabama. I know Ed well. They recruited every literally every top player in the country and even those that didn't end up in Tuscaloosa [Alabama] went to Florida State or Miami, or Georgia, or what have you."
"These two [Kelly, Marynowitz] really have a background and an intimate knowledge on these players that gives them a head start on the other 31 teams in the league," Savage continued. "And to sacrifice that for this year's draft, or even next year, or even the following year by giving away multiple, it didn't make a lot of sense to me."
One of the best examples of the Eagles' personnel edge, according to Savage, is 84th overall pick Jordan Hicks.
"Jordan Hicks was a five-star recruit out of Cincinnati, Ohio," Savage, the current Senior Bowl director, explained. "He could have gone anywhere in the country, including Alabama. He ended up going to Texas, he did have some injury issues there, but he was healthy this past season---played in every game. He's a very athletic linebacker and to me, he's kind of the definition of the modern day backer that can play out in space.
"To me, if Mychal Kendricks truly is on the move at some point in the future, than Jordan Hicks is going to be his replacement," said Savage. "He's an excellent young man and he was kind of a sleeper, so to speak."
