The recent upheaval in the Philadelphia Eagles' front office and on the coaching staff means it's time for the organization to decide whom they want to keep and whom they want to let go. The toughest of these decisions for Howie Roseman & Co. will be on quarterback Sam Bradford.
Given the Eagles' reported interest in reacquiring Nick Foles, it seems that the pendulum is swinging away from retaining Bradford.
That is somewhat understandable given Bradford's salary demands, but there is a strong case to be made that the Eagles should go all-out to keep Bradford, even at a high price.
Bradford is an elite vertical passer
Cam Newton and Russell Wilson both made strong MVP cases during the second half of the 2015 season, but they could not keep up with Bradford in terms of yards per attempt (YPA) on vertical passes (throws of 11 or more yards downfield). In fact, no one in the league matched Bradford's 15.1 vertical YPA pace from Weeks 9 through 17.
That Bradford did this with a less-than-stellar pass-catching corps is notable, but it isn't an anomaly. In the 2013 season, Bradford ranked sixth in the league in vertical YPA (12.5) despite throwing to a mediocre receiving corps consisting of Tavon Austin, Austin Pettis, Chris Givens, Brian Quick, Jared Cook and Lance Kendricks. He is one of a small handful of quarterbacks capable of getting excellent downfield production out of subpar receiving.