Eagles coach Chip Kelly identifies the gamble NFL teams have to make if they want to get franchise quarterback fast
Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly gutted his team this off-season in a roster overhaul that involved trading his starting quarterback Nick Foles to the St. Louis Rams for Sam Bradford, a player coming off of back-to-back ACL injuries.
While he drew plenty of criticism for the move, Kelly told Philadelphia Magazine's Tim McManus that he sees the trade as a calculated risk he needed to take, believing there are only two ways to get a franchise quarterback: draft one, or acquire one when he's coming off of an injury and his stock is low.
Since the Eagles had the No. 20 pick in this year's draft, they didn't have a shot at Florida State's Jameis Winston or Oregon's Marcus Mariota - the only two quarterbacks in the draft who many experts believed to be starting-caliber worthy. Needing a franchise quarterback, but not wanting to begin a long-term rebuilding process, Kelly believed he had to make a trade.