The quarterback is scheduled to be a free-agent this offseason and it’s unknown if he will be returning to the Minnesota Vikings in 2018.
Following his first season in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams that resulted in him being named the Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press, the future looked bright for Sam Bradford’s career as a professional football player.
However, Bradford’s time in the league since then has been anything but a smooth ride.
After tearing his left ACL for the second straight year in 2014, the Rams decided to send the quarterback and is abnormally long sleeves to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Nick Foles. Bradford only last one season with the Eagles before he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings in 2016.
The quarterback’s time with the Vikings has been nothing to brag about. After failing to lead a team to the postseason for the sixth time in his career in 2016, Bradford only appeared in a total of six quarters for Minnesota this past season due to a lingering knee injury.
When the new league year begins in March, the quarterback will be a free-agent for the first time in his career. Stranger things have happened before, but it doesn’t seem likely that Bradford will be re-joining the Vikings in 2018 based on his injury risk and the amount of money he will likely be looking for (around $15 million per year).
So if the quarterback is not on Minnesota’s roster next season, what other teams could he potentially land with?
Washington Redskins:
If Kirk Cousins is somehow able to get out of Washington this offseason, Bradford could become a top target for the Redskins. Washington may also be able to give the quarterback more money than any other team since the franchise has an extensive history of overpaying free-agents.
The Redskins are scheduled to have more than $52 million in cap room this offseason, so affording Bradford should not be a problem. It just depends on if Washington wants to replace Cousins with another veteran quarterback or they want to find his replacement in the draft.
However, if Cousins ends up staying with the Redskins for 2018, don’t expect Bradford to get any calls from Washington this offseason.
New York Jets:
Thanks to their team overachieving in 2017, the New York Jets do not have a top five pick in the upcoming NFL Draft and the team could miss out on landing a potential franchise quarterback. If this ends up being the case, the Jets could bring in Bradford.
New York has a boatload of money to spend this offseason (more than $72 million in cap space) and last year’s starting quarterback, Josh McCown, is a free-agent this year. Currently, the signal callers signed under contract for the Jets consists of Christian Hackenberg, Bryce Petty, and Joel Stave.
Not exactly a trio that strikes fear into anyone. Adding Bradford to the roster this offseason would at least give New York some more experience under center even if they still end up taking a quarterback in the draft.
Cleveland Browns:
Like the New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns will have a lot of money to spend this offseason (more than $111 million). And after failing to win a single game last year, the Browns are likely going to do their best to lure some of the top free-agents to town in 2018.
Kirk Cousins is probably going to be a big target for Cleveland this offseason. But if they don’t land him, Bradford could be their consolation prize.
In comparison to what the Browns had under center in 2017, Bradford is basically the second-coming of Joe Montana. Plus, for some reason, the veteran signal caller has always seemed destined to become a part of the infamous Cleveland quarterback jersey.
Buffalo Bills:
Currently, the Bills’ top quarterback on their roster is Tyrod Taylor. He has been Buffalo’s starter for the past three seasons and is scheduled to make around $16 million in 2018.
If Buffalo wants out of Taylor’s current contract and chooses to release him before the start of the new league year in March, they will endure a cap hit of $8.64 million. This or a trade seems like a move the Bills could make this offseason as the team has been showing signs recently that they are ready to move on from Taylor.
Next: Who will be the Vikings' starting QB in 2018?
Buffalo does not have a ton of cap room this year (just over $31 million), so something would have to be done with Taylor before the team could even consider bringing in Bradford. If the Bills did decide to sign Bradford, his deal would likely be short-term and very team-friendly.