Written by Tom Pelissero at USAToday.com
In the three days after Teddy Bridgewater’s season-ending knee injury, the Minnesota Vikings called every team in the NFL that might have a quarterback to deal.
Only on Friday night, when trade talks intensified with the Philadelphia Eagles, did the Vikings know they could swing a trade as stunning as the one that brought Sam Bradford to the defending NFC North champions.
The Eagles confirmed Saturday morning they’ve traded Bradford to the Vikings for a first-round draft pick in 2017 and a fourth-round pick in 2018, six months to the day after re-signing the former No. 1 overall draft pick to a two-year deal.
The fourth-round pick in 2018 can escalate to as much as a second-rounder if the Vikings win the Super Bowl and Bradford plays 80% of the snaps, a person with knowledge of the deal said, speaking on condition of anonymity because details were to remain private.
Philadelphia is in transition under new coach Doug Pederson and has another veteran option, Chase Daniel, on the roster to keep the seat warm until No. 2 overall draft pick Carson Wentz is ready to play. Bradford requested a trade soon after the Eagles traded up for Wentz in April, but no deal was struck then.
The Vikings had flexibility, with extra third- and fourth-round picks next year from past trades. They have a solid young talent base, having made nine first-round picks in the past five drafts, all of them still on the team. They have an offense built around 31-year-old halfback Adrian Peterson, who doesn’t have time on his side. And they had an unexpected opportunity to make a big upgrade from Bridgewater’s presumed replacement, Shaun Hill, a 36-year-old career backup who’d be serviceable for a game or two, but has never started more than 10 games in a season and lacks the arm to push the ball downfield.
Bradford, 28, has famously battled injuries throughout his career but is healthy now and performed well in the preseason. One of his old coaches in St. Louis and Philadelphia, Pat Shurmur, is now the Vikings’ tight ends coach. And the Vikings felt Bradford would be a natural fit for Norv Turner’s Air Coryell derivative offense.
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