Bradford Trade Talk Not an Uncommon Situation
By Luke Schnake
http://www.101sports.com/2015/02/22/bradford-trade-talk-not-uncommon-situation/
Confusion set in recently, sparked by a CBSSports.com tweet stating the Rams had given Sam Bradford permission to seek a trade. Rams GM Les Snead was quick to refute those claims in a press conference from the NFL Combine in Indianapolis where he compared the situation to another from the past and said the team should still be prepared should Bradford become injured.
“Guess what? Sam Bradford, if he were to leave the Rams, he might be worth another team taking a shot at,” Snead said at the combine. “Let’s don’t delete him, I don’t think that is the answer. I think the answer is providing insurance in case we do go through you know, more bad luck.”
Rams Executive Vice President Kevin Demoff has let players and their agents know in the past they are free to explore the trade market to find their worth among teams who are looking.
In a recent interview with ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, The Fast Lane asked if there was anything truly shocking about the situation.
“It’s not shocking. Anyone that’s really been paying attention understands what’s really going on there,” Wagoner said.
“This isn’t a situation where the Rams are trying to trade Sam Bradford, it’s not a situation where Sam Bradford has asked to be traded. It’s a situation of trying to figure out how to gauge what the market value of Sam Bradford would be.”
The Rams would ultimately like a reduction in cost for the final year of Bradford’s contract in St. Louis. In order to find out what price would be fair for both sides moving forward, the team is allowing Bradford and his agent, Tom Condon to explore his worth throughout the league. While the team is technically letting Bradford explore the trade market, one reading between the lines can see he’s not necessarily bound for a flight out of town.
NFL agent and 101ESPN league insider Marc Lillibridge said teams around the league often do allow players to explore their options, with the goal of finding the best possible solution for both sides.
“It’s all about finding that happy medium. The Rams have a guy who they want to build their team around on the surface in Sam Bradford, but he’s had the injury problems, and it’s not a big free agent quarterback class,” Lillibridge said. “So if a team like Cleveland or Buffalo decide they may want to deal a pick this year or a number one next year, then the Rams would want to look at it just like they did with the RG3 deal.”
Lillibridge would not speculate on if he thought a Bradford trade would take place, but said he wouldn’t take anything off the table.
“That’s way above my paygrade. I don’t know what’s being talked about behind closed doors with the Rams, but the fact they’re talking about it means anything is possible.”
