Sam Bradford, Eagles sign two-year contract

The Philadelphia Eagles did not place the franchise tag on Sam Bradford. Instead, they signed the impending free agent quarterback to a two-year contract, according to an official announcement from the team. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the contract is worth $36 million overall with $26 million guaranteed. That's an annual value of $18 million, which is about $5 million more than Bradford made in 2015.

The Bradford re-signing doesn't come as a surprise based on recent reports about how the team "upped their offer" and made a "real push" to keep him. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson and executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman both publicly expressed interest in retaining Bradford this offseason.

And so the Eagles will move forward Bradford as their starting quarterback for the 2016 season at least. This doesn't mean they won't find other ways to address the position. Pederson has hinted that the Eagles are interested in drafting a rookie quarterback who can sit behind Bradford. Paxton Lynch of Memphis is a name the Eagles have been connected to early on in the 2016 NFL Draft process.

Bradford's short-term contract indicates there wasn't going to be a lot of interest for him on the open market. This suggests the NFL isn't putting much stock in Bradford's overstated final seven game stretch of the 2015 season. It also shows the Eagles don't believe in him as their long-term answer.

The Eagles acquired Bradford in a trade with the St. Louis Rams last offseason. Philadelphia gave up their second round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft along with Nick Foles in order to get him. He struggled out of the gate in 2015 but showed relative improvement in the second half of the season. Even with his improvement, however, he still ranked below average in a number of key categories.

Bradford will have the chance to stick around in Philadelphia and earn (another) big deal if he plays well in the future. It's just hard to be optimistic about him considering he's never even led his team to an 8-win season or finished top 10 in passer rating or top 20 in yards per attempt in any given season. Bradford's extensive injury history is also a concern.

We'll see how it works out.