Chip Kelly Defends Sam Bradford Trade: 'Easier For QB With ACL Injury, Than WR'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Trading Nick Foles for Sam Bradford wasn't a popular move in Philadelphia. Bradford's lack of success in the NFL combined with his injury history, make Eagles fans nervous.
Kelly acquired Bradford, who is coming off of back-to-back ACL injuries, in a trade for Nick Foles. Kelly isn't worried.
"I would say that it's probably easier for a quarterback with a knee injury than it is with a shoulder injury, as we went through the history of it," Kelly said Wednesday at the NFL owners meetings. "We didn't bring Sam [Bradford] to run the ball 75 times a game. So, I think it's a lot easier for a quarterback with an ACL, than a receiver with an ACL. You look at, I think, the history right now in terms of sports science and what doctors are doing now is move forward it's unbelievable.
"Look at the year Jeremy Maclin had coming off of two ACL's. Look at our center, Jason Kelce came off an ACL when I first got there, was just coming off an ACL and had a sports hernia in the middle of the season and still made the Pro Bowl. Our left-tackle [Jason Peters] w ho is arguably a Hall Of Famer is coming off of two Achilles [injuries] and has played at an outstanding level."
As for Foles, Kelly hoped to have both him and Bradford on his roster.
"We were trying to keep Nick, it was just at the last second they wanted players," Kelly admitted. "We were trying to get it done with draft picks. It didn't work out that way."
Kelly also updated Bradford's current status.
"When we got him [Bradford] on a Wednesday, he was there the following Sunday," Kelly said. "So he's been with our training staff every day rehabbing and then we get a chance to finally meet with him on April 20th which is the first day of phase one. And then it's the normal process it is for anybody on our team. It sounds like he's on target to be fully recovered. I just don't know exactly what day he'll be cleared to be one hundred percent."