Bradford Disappointed That He Didn’t Get Green Light

Sam Bradford made it clear that his preference was to play against the Colts. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, he noted how Jeff Fisher‘s decision to sit him in the preseason opener last year only increased the number of butterflies in his gut.

“I think it’d just make me more anxious for the second game,” said Bradford, speaking from experience.

Chip Kelly, though, has decided that the best course of action is to hold off and have Bradford make his debut next week against Baltimore.

“It’s a coach’s decision. Obviously I wanted to be out there, I was preparing to be out there, but this morning [Kelly] sat down and explained it to me. It’s up to him. I’ll be ready to roll next week, get out there and play against the Ravens,” said Bradford.

“I think anytime that you put the time in, come to training camp, work for two weeks, it’s always fun to get out there and play against someone, play real football again. I think it is a little bit disappointing but I’m excited about the opportunity next week.”

Bradford said that if he did get the green light, he likely would have played only six-to-eight snaps against Indy. Those are reps that he can probably make up between now and the opener in Atlanta. The desire to play Sunday was more about being able to cross the next step off the list.

“Obviously I’d like to be out there Sunday just to get out there and get it out of the way. But I think the good thing is we get to practice against [Baltimore] next week, hopefully that will take some of the uneasiness out of the way so that when we step onto the field for real next week I’m ready to go.”

Like Kelly, Bradford said the decision to hold him back was not health-related.

“I haven’t sat out a practice, I haven’t missed a rep,” he said. “This has nothing to do with the knee. I think this has  been kind of his plan from the beginning.”