Sam Bradford Will Not Play On Sunday

Chip Kelly opened up his press conference by telling reporters that quarterback Sam Bradford will not play against the Colts in the Eagles preseason opener, saying he wants to give the QB some more practice experience before putting him in live action.

“He’s been out here for two weeks and I think the other guys have a little bit of a base,” Kelly said. “So I feel a little bit more comfortable putting him in the Ravens game.

“His first 11-on-11 was just two weeks ago and now going out against a [different] team, it was just my decision. We’ve been back and forth on it and I made the final call, so he will sit this game and he will be able to play against the Ravens.”

Kelly explained the reasoning behind the move to Bradford, and although the QB was disappointed, he offered little resistance.

“Sam understands. I think he’s disappointed, but I think he understands. It wasn’t a debate.”

Kelly also noted the importance of his team’s combined practices with the Ravens, saying they will be the final step before he allows Bradford to shed his red jersey.

“I think with the training sessions with the Ravens next week will help, because we’ll get two real good days with them, [We’ll be] in pads with John [Harbaugh’s] team and then we have the game against the Ravens and then you have the Packers, so I felt like we had some more opportunities for him.”

Kelly did offer some reassurance, stating Bradford is still fully healthy and has not suffered a setback.

“He’s been a full-go in everything, the only limitation is the head coach,” Kelly quipped.

Mark Sanchez will start Sunday’s game in Bradford’s place, but backups Matt Barkley and Tim Tebow will end up receiving the majority of the snaps.