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Howie Roseman says Eagles would like to bring Sam Bradford back

Will the Eagles put their money where their mouth is?

Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Another day, another endorsement for Sam Bradford. This time it's Philadelphia Eagles executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman who said the team wants Bradford back. Here's what Roseman said in an interview on the team's official podcast with Dave Spadaro, via Birds 24/7:

"We've all been clear that we like Sam, and we'd like to have him back. It goes then between all of us and whether we can figure something out that makes sense on both sides," said Roseman. "Sometimes we get into a situation where we sit here and it will make sense from the team's perspective but when you're talking about a negotiation, it's also got to work for the other side and the player, and we understand that. But hopefully this will all work out and we'll look at that depth chart when we line up here in July and be really excited about the position."

The Eagles very well may want Bradford back, but the key factor here is obviously going to be the price tag. Philadelphia doesn't seem prepared to break the bank for him. The Eagles reportedly aren't going to use the franchise tag on Bradford which means it's possible he could hit unrestricted free agency.

If Bradford hits the open market, there could be multiple teams competing for his services. If that's the case, that will drive his price tag his up. It's been suggested recently that there could be a soft market for Bradford and the Eagles could bring him back cheap. I don't think that's as likely. I also think it sends a weird message. You don't let a quarterback even sniff free agency if you truly believe in him as your guy.

But back to the Roseman quote. The "it's also got to work for the other side and the player" line makes me think that the Eagles might have some interest in Bradford that isn't necessarily mutual. A few Eagles players and even head coach Doug Pederson have publicly said that Bradford wants to be back. But is that really the truth? Multiple reporters, both local and national, have reported that Bradford isn't crazy about returning to Philadelphia. He simply might not want to be back.

There's some reason to believe Bradford might not be in the team's plans. Pederson reportedly believes in impending Chiefs free agent quarterback Chase Daniel as a starter. Pederson has also openly expressed interest in picking a rookie quarterback at some point in the 2016 NFL Draft.

It won't take long much longer to see how the Bradford situation plays out. The franchise tag window is set to close on Tuesday, March 1. If the Eagles don't tag Bradford, as expected, they will have until March 9 before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Bradford's agent, Tom Condon, can start speaking with other teams as soon as the "legal tampering" window opens on March 7, however.

And so the Bradford debate rages on.

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