Bradford: It Was Condon’s Idea

Sam Bradford did his part to help the narrative that the “holdout” and accompanying trade demand was an agent-driven decision.

Speaking to the media for the first time since all of this went down, Bradford said that he placed full confidence in Tom Condon to navigate the situation, and it was Condon that ultimately chose this path.

“I was told [about the Eagles trading up to the No. 2 spot] Wednesday, participated in the practice on Thursday and then I believe Friday is when Tom called me and felt like we needed to take some action,” said Bradford.

So it was his idea?

“Yeah.”

Why not just tell him that you’re an Eagle and you want to stay?

“He’s someone I really trust, I feel like he’s seen these things before and I’m always going to follow his advice,” Bradford replied.

Of course, agents work for the players, and there’s no way that Condon plays the high-risk game of trying to force a trade unless the client is unhappy and gives his approval. Bradford acknowledged that he was “frustrated” when he found up the Eagles made a move to draft a quarterback and needed some time away.

“I could have stayed here, continued to work here but I’m not sure my head would have been here those two weeks,” he said.

His decision to return to the fold, he said, was motivated by the relationships he had in the locker room, missing his teammates and realizing that Philadelphia was the best place for him to be. But wasn’t it really because the trade efforts failed and this was the best remaining option?

“Partly so,” he said. “Obviously my agent felt like at the time of the trade, trying to get somewhere to create that stability, a place where I could be entrenched long term or with the goal of being there long term. He thought that was the best option. Then after those two weeks we realized this is the best place for me to be,” he said.

Bradford dismissed the notion that he is looking over his shoulder or that he’s scared of competition. Rather, he is after long-term stability and recognizes that when a team invests all of those resources to draft a quarterback, there will come a point where this won’t be his team.

And yes, he knows that this move has not been great for his standing with Eagles fans, and says the only thing he can do about it is win them back through his actions moving forward.

Despite his attempts to get out of town, Bradford maintains that he will continue to be a leader for this team, and will do right by Carson Wentz even if he is the man that will ultimately supplant him.

“We’ve been together the past couple days. Obviously I understand what it’s like to be in his position,” said Bradford of Wentz. “When I came in as a rookie I had A.J. Feeley in St. Louis with me and he was great. He taught me a lot, he really kind of took me under his wing.

“I’m not going to try and hide anything. I’m going to try and help Carson. If he has questions, I’m going to give him the best answers that I can. I love seeing quarterbacks succeed in this league, and if I can do something to help him become a better player, I’m going to do it.”