Chip: We Won’t Mortgage Future For Mariota

Chip Kelly laughed a hearty laugh when asked if the Sam Bradford deal suggests that he will not be trading up to grab Marcus Mariota.

“Let’s dispel that right now,” he said. “I think that stuff is crazy. You guys have been going with that stuff all along. I think Marcus is the best quarterback in the draft. We will never mortgage our future to go all the way up to go get somebody like that because we have too many other holes that we’re going to take care of.”

If you take Kelly at his word, then whatever hope remained that Kelly is positioning himself to move up to grab the Oregon quarterback just flew out the door.

So, Bradford, then.

In defending the trade, Kelly volunteered that another team had offered a first-round pick to the Eagles for Bradford’s services just this morning, suggesting he’s a hot commodity. And based off his comments, Kelly believes there is plenty to like about the quarterback.

“I think he’s got an outstanding skill set. He’s a big, strong, physical quarterback. He’s over six-four, he’s 240 pounds, he’s smart, he’s intelligent, he’s one of the most accurate throwers when you see him throw the football. I think he’s wired right,” said Kelly.

“I think we had some inside information because Pat Shurmur had the opportunity to coach the kid for a year, so he knows what he’s like in the meeting room, he knows what he’s like on a daily basis, he knows the consistency that comes with him, he understands his work ethic. He’s an unbelievable competitor.”

Kelly said the two sides have not yet talked contract extension, and when asked if he considers Bradford the long-term quarterback, he replied: “We’ll see. Everything is a one-year season for everybody. That’s what this league is. But we wouldn’t have traded for him if we didn’t think he has tremendous upside as a quarterback.”

When asked about Bradford’s injury history, Kelly pointed to the fact that Jeremy Maclin has had a pair of ACL tears and rebounded for a career year last year. He also noted that if Bradford didn’t have the injury history, he wouldn’t have been available in the first place.

“We’ve done our due diligence in terms of talking to Dr. Andrews in terms what we’re getting, so we feel very confident in where Sam is,” he said.