While Chip Kelly has not officially committed to Sam Bradford taking the field on Saturday evening when the Eagles take on the Baltimore Ravens, indications point to the quarterback making his Philadelphia debut. It was last week when Kelly said he expects Bradford to play against the Ravens.
Bradford's looked great this summer. He's had a very good training camp. However, there are still obvious concerns about his ability to move around in the pocket and take a hit. Bradford admitted nerves come into play, but for the most part he's just ready to get out on the field.
"I think there's a lot of emotions," he said. "I think I'm excited to get back on the field, first of all. It’s been a long time. Obviously, last year I felt I worked really hard to get back to being in football shape and I was ready to go. And then, obviously, I got hurt again."
"So I’m just excited to get back out there. I think there are some butterflies in there getting back out on the field knowing that I’m going to take a few hits, take them, get up, and get going again."
It'll be interesting to see how Bradford handles game pressure after being out for a long time. While the team would certainly prefer him to not be taking hits, he said he's ready for them.
"I think it's always good to get that first hit out of the way. You never like to get hit, but I think sometimes it gets you in the flow of the game. Hopefully it doesn't happen, hopefully it's not a big shot, but I wouldn't hate going to the ground once and getting up and knowing that I'm going to be OK."
One can wonder how many reps Bradford will play. If the team was so cautious about holding him out last week, how much are they going to expose him to real game action just six days later? If the past two years are any indication (hat tip to Zach Berman), Bradford should be in line for a total of 18 to 20 snaps.
Bradford shared his personal preference with the media.
"As many reps as Coach Kelly will give me," he said. "I'd love to be out there in a rhythm and get things going."
"I'll take all the reps that I can get. I think I've got a lot of great reps over the past three weeks, especially the past two days going against Baltimore. Like I said, whatever he'll give me I'll take."