Howie Roseman: ‘Sam Bradford Is Our Starting QB’

Howie Roseman. (Jeff Fusco)

Howie Roseman wanted to put the rumors to rest before he opened up his press conference. The Eagles had just announced that they acquired the No. 2 overall pick in next week’s draft, but Roseman indicated the team’s starting quarterback for 2016 hasn’t changed.

“Let me be clear: Sam Bradford is our starting quarterback,” Roseman said. “We told Sam that. We intend to support him and the moves we made this offseason, we believe, will give us a chance to compete this season.”

The Eagles acquired the No. 2 pick and Cleveland’s 2017 fourth-round pick by giving up their 2016 first-round pick (No. 8 overall), 2016 third-round pick (No. 77 overall), 2016 fourth-round pick (No. 100 overall), 2017 first-round pick and 2018 second-round pick.

Roseman said the Eagles’ top priority this offseason was to get one of the first 10 picks because it was “hard to envision” they could get up high enough from No. 13 overall to draft a quarterback. Roseman, Doug Pederson and Jeffrey Lurie told Bradford about the trade in a meeting before practice. He added that Bradford isn’t for sale, but that it’s possible the rookie quarterback could beat out Bradford in the preseason for the starting spot.

“I think that goes for any position,” Roseman said. “Competition is going to bring out the best of everyone and that goes for the quarterback position.”

According to Roseman, these trade conversations have been ongoing for the past three weeks. While he said the Eagles don’t know who the Rams will draft, they are “very sure we’re going to get the player we want.”

He didn’t indicate who the team would prefer between California’s Jared Goff or North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz.

“You have to be very comfortable with both of those quarterbacks and believe that they have a shot to being great, to being Pro Bowl caliber,” Roseman said. “If you felt really strongly about just one and you didn’t feel like you knew the direction [Los Angeles] was going in, then you’d wait until you were on the clock to make this trade.”

But if it is Wentz, how big of a risk are you taking on a guy who played in the FCS and has a smaller sample size?

“It’s hard to be great if you don’t take some risks. When you look at it, there are very few sure things at any position in the draft,” Roseman said. “But it’s a great opportunity for someone who not only has the coaching that we have here and the support they have here, but the benefit of time. We saw that with Doug being here with Donovan [McNabb]. You saw that in Green Bay. You saw that in San Diego with Philip Rivers. You certainly saw that in New England with Tom Brady and the benefit of sitting and watching and observing.

“These are young guys. The National Football League is a big jump from any level. That’s one of the things that we also looked at: We’re not positioned where anyone has to come in and play this year, conceivably next year.”