As the saying goes, if you have two quarterbacks, you have none. So what does it mean when you have three quarterbacks?
Possibly, some very unique offensive formations.
With the Eagles becoming the second team in less than a week to surrender multiple picks for a crack at one of the top two quarterbacks in the draft, the Eagles will have their new rookie (Carson Wentz or Jared Goff), Sam Bradford, and Chase Daniel on the roster.
Making the situation even more amazing is the fact that the Eagles have signed Bradford and Daniel to new contracts this offseason, with $22 million fully guaranteed for Bradford over two years and $12 million fully guaranteed for Daniel. Another $24 million or so will be fully guaranteed to the team’s newest quarterback, whoever that is.
Eagles G.M. Howie Roseman told reporters on Wednesday that Bradford is the starter, and that the team will take a quarterback with the second pick in the draft.
While Bradford may indeed be the starter right now, his contract could be intriguing to a team like the Jets, Broncos, or even the 49ers. If the Eagles agree to eat Bradford’s $11 million signing bonus, Bradford’s new team would be responsible for a $7 million base salary this year, a fully-guaranteed $4 million roster bonus due next March, and a $13 million base salary in 2017.
That’s $24 million over two years, a very affordable amount for a starting quarterback.
To get the most for Bradford, the Eagles need to project the notion that they want to keep him. They also need to send that message in the event they’d like to trade him but can’t.
If they don’t trade Bradford (or Chase Daniel), they’ll have more than $58 million in fully-guaranteed obligations to three quarterbacks, only one of whom will be playing -- barring a return of the Wildcat formation to Philly.
