Sam Bradford: ‘This Is Where I Want To Be’

The Eagles season hasn’t gone how Sam Bradford envisioned when he joined the team in the offseason, but the quarterback said he still wants to re-sign and be back next year.

“I’ve enjoyed my time here. I’ve enjoyed being in Philadelphia,” Bradford said after the Eagles’ 38-24 loss against Washington. “I think throughout my career, I’ve learned that learning new offenses every year, it’s just hard to continue to improve. You are always learning. You are learning new verbiage, learning new plays, learning new systems. And I would really like to stay in the same one and have the opportunity to play a second year.”

Bradford has completed 63.7 percent of his passes this season for 3,025 yards, 16 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He’s averaging 6.9 yards per throw and has a passer rating of 83.8.

Against Washington, Bradford set a career high with 380 passing yards and 37 completions. His completion total also tied an Eagles record, set by Mark Sanchez last season at Washington.

“We are not at the stage where we have been talking about that,” Bradford said, “but if it does present itself and I do have the opportunity, then this is where I want to be.”

Bradford had a rough start to the season, throwing more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (9) in his first seven games. However, in his last six games, he has thrown eight touchdowns and three interceptions while recording a passer rating below 91 just once.

Jordan Matthews compared Bradford to Andy Dalton and Cam Newton, saying those quarterbacks needed time to develop in their systems before playing as well as they have this season.

“I know that’s going to be my guy, and I want him to be my guy,” Matthews said. “I wholeheartedly believe he has to be the guy moving forward. You’ve seen progression; you’ve seen how much better he’s gotten; you’ve seen the chemistry that he’s been able to build with me, Zach [Ertz], some of the other receivers. I was at a low point a little bit and he kept picking me up. He kept bringing me up, and now I think you’ve seen us grow. Like I said, it’s got to be him.”

Matthews added that the Eagles “need” Bradford, citing the quarterback’s talent and the importance of consistency. The second-year receiver said the same applies to Nelson Agholor and Josh Huff, two young wide outs who have performed below expectations this season.

“I know people hate to hear it, but it’s the truth of the matter: it does take time. It takes time to build those relationships. It takes time to build that camaraderie, but I’m committed to it and I know Sam’s the guy,” Matthews said. “That chemistry does have to get built. That time does have to be put in for everybody to grow to be the team you want to be.”

Zach Ertz agreed with Matthews’ assessment, before adding the decision isn’t up to him and his teammates.

“I want to go into an offseason with the same quarterback,” Ertz said. “We had that with Nick [Foles] one offseason, but he got hurt the following year. It’s hard. We want Sam back, but ultimately it’s not going to be our decision.”