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Before Philadelphia Eagles minicamp practice officially opened on Tuesday, Chip Kelly revealed that Sam Bradford still isn't ready for 11-on-11 drills. Asked if there is a date set for the quarterback's full recovery from the ACL he injured in August 2014, the coach responded:
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"No, we haven't set any timelines."
But will Bradford be ready for training camp?
"God, we hope so," Kelly said.
After practice, one reporter told Bradford about Kelly's response. Bradford had the following to say:
"Yeah, I think if I'm not ready for 11-on-11 by training camp, then I think something has gone terribly wrong. So that's the plan right now. We're going to continue to work each week. Continue to plan throughout the summer and try to be ready for training camp."
Eagles training camp officially begins on Sunday, August 2. That's 45 days away from the conclusion of mandatory minicamp this week on Thursday, June 18. So what does Bradford plan to do during that time off?
"I'm going to be around [Philadelphia] most of the time. We sat down a little back last week with the strength staff and the training staff and kind of put together a plan. [...] I plan on sticking around here and just continue to work."
Bradford has made some tangible progress since the start of Eagles OTAs in late May. He originally wasn't even warming up with the team or taking part in 7-on-7s. When he first joined 7-on-7s during the second week of OTA practices, he only took about five repetitions. By contrast, Bradford warmed up with the team on the first day of minicamp and also had at least one 7-on-7 series where he was the first quarterback up instead of Mark Sanchez. Bradford's arm looks good and it looks like he's beginning to trust his footwork as well.
Bradford talked a little about the progress he's made:
"I just feel more comfortable dropping back. I feel like when I first got out here I was about a half count slow. I feel like I've kind of worked myself back to as close to game speed as I can get it right now. I think, overall, I just feel more comfortable with my knee. I trust it more. It's not as sore. It feels better. Overall, I just feel better."