Sam Bradford faces NFL decisions again
Negativity building, NFL Draft analyst says
BY DAVID UBBEN
Comments 
79
Published: October 20, 2009
NORMAN — In January, Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford had to decide if he would return for another college football season.
Sam Bradford aggravated the same injury Saturday against Texas. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
Multimedia
More Info
Oklahoma at No. 25 Kansas
→When: 2:30 p.m., Saturday
→Where: Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, Kan.
→TV: ABC (Cox 8)
→Radio: KRXO-FM 107.7
When the reigning
Heisman Trophy winner suffered a sprain in his throwing shoulder in this season’s opening loss to
Brigham Young, he then had to decide when he was comfortable returning to the field.
After aggravating the same injury Saturday against
Texas, he might have to decide both for the second time. Will he return for the 2010 season? Will he even play again this season?
What the junior can’t decide is what his future bosses, in the
NFL, think of him.
"The negativity will build. It already has,” said
Todd McShay, an NFL Draft analyst for
ESPN. "Since last season, there hasn’t been anything positive from him, and the concerns will grow as we get closer to the draft.”
Bradford has two options if he wants to squash those negative vibes: work to get back on the field this season and risk injuring the shoulder a third time. Or, he can have surgery and return to Norman for his senior season.
Otherwise, Bradford will enter next April’s draft with a heap of question marks that general managers can’t answer.
Depending on when — or if — Bradford has surgery, NFL teams might not get to see him work out before the draft. That would cause an almost-imminent fall down the draft boards.
Surgery recovery time is estimated at four months. The NFL Draft Combine is Feb. 24-March 2.
If Bradford fails to attend the Combine, he could attract a horde of scouts at a Pro Day in Norman, which is held after the Combine. But that would mean having immediate surgery.
"He should be focused on one thing: getting healthy and getting back on the field,” McShay said. "If the doctors tell him to shut it down, then the question is whether he should stay or go.”
"If I were him, I would stay another year, as crazy as it sounds.”
If Bradford turns pro, he might face a drop on the draft board. That might lead to a $10 million to $20 million pay cut.
"He’d go from
Mark Sanchez money to
Josh Freeman money, basically,” said
Daniel Mogollon, president of NFL Draft Bible, a Web site devoted to covering the draft.
Two weeks ago, Bradford dismissed the idea that money was his primary concern, though the former Putnam City North standout will eventually become a wealthy man.
A slip to the late first round might give him the opportunity to earn a Super Bowl ring sooner by being drafted by a team closer to contention than, say, the
Detroit Lions. Former
Georgia QB Matt Stafford has a $41.7 million guaranteed contract with the Lions, but the rookie appears far from leading Detroit to a Super Bowl.
"Sam Bradford never got to hand off to
Adrian Peterson as a Sooner, but he might do it as a Viking,” Mogollon said. "That’d be a great scenario for him as a rookie. Great running game, great offensive line, great defense.”
And if
Brett Favre decided to stay in
Minneapolis one more season, Bradford could soak up the future Hall of Famer’s knowledge for a season without the pressure of becoming the savior of a franchise.
"If he could go somewhere where the pressure is off of playing right away and adjust to the new system, it could end up helping him,” McShay said. "He’s coming off a year where he won’t play much, and coming from a system that, quite frankly, hasn’t sent a lot of quarterbacks to the NFL.”
No Oklahoma quarterback has ever started a game in the NFL.
McShay says Bradford’s injury has made several NFL teams doubt how good he would be as a pro player. Bradford played a lot of "clean football” as a sophomore as current NFL linemen
Phil Loadholt (
Minnesota) and
Duke Robinson (Carolina) provided ample protection.
"There are a lot of quarterbacks that can be great behind the offensive line he had last year,” McShay said. "This year, with (tight end Jermaine)
Gresham out, fewer playmaking receivers and an offensive line that’s had some issues, we get a sense of who the real Sam Bradford is. What he’s playing with now is more like what he’d be playing with in the NFL.”
For now, the only way Bradford can silence the increasing criticism about his future is by playing.
"He needs to listen to doctors and do what they tell him is better for him in the long term,” McShay said. "I, personally, would try to play if I could play this year.
"If surgery is the better option, then I’d have surgery as soon as possible. But if that’s what he has to do, then I think the smart move would be to come back next year.”
Leave a Comment
Sports Photo Galleriesview all
Prev
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Log in below or sign up (it's free).
Then he needs to concentrate on the NFL. He has done the best he can for Oklahoma. It's time to move to the next level.
Also in the NFL, you have pretty good tight ends all over the place. In Minnesota Bradford would be AWESOME with their Offense.
I really hope Bradford can some how end up in Minnesota. It would be GREAT if Minnesota just came to him outside the draft and offer him a huge contract to be a free agent. Or is there some sort of law against that? I follow football, but have never heard of anyone saying that or asking about that. I imagine they passed a law against that to make it fair for all the teams. I guess that is how the Draft came about.
Anyhow, at any rate, I disagree that Bradford would have the same results in the NFL as this year in Oklahoma, because of the difference the NFL has at WR and TE.
pro aside, tim is a proven winner and he is good at it and thats what counts.
he beat us remember.
If he comes back he will lose 2 yrs of pro earnings.
It doesn't make sense to put off going pro another year so that he can improve his draft stock to make more money when when you consider that he has already lost probably 30-40k by not going last year and being hurt this year.
Plus, IF (big if) he goes 10th-15th in the draft he is on a much better team. MHO
First, even if Sam had surgery, he'd still likely be healthy in time to work out for scouts after the combine but before the draft. Surgery doesn't mean he's coming back.
Second, even if he had surgery, he would still ATTEND the draft, blow scouts, GM's and coaches away with interviews and take good measurements. Again, surgery doesn't mean he just stays home and plays video games until the scouts come to Norman.
DuuuuuuFussssss
Makes lots of sense.
SOOOOOOONER!
P.S. the Sooners will NOT lose a 5th BCS bowl game in a row...LOL
Steve, lock it up. Stay off the computer until Texas loses in the National Title or gets upset later this month, then come back and try that argument. OU had EVERY chance to win that game. OU lost that game. Texas didn't win it. Texas escaped. It was lucky, even with Jones playing QB. How many BCS games, by the way, has Brown been to? 3 right? Stoops has won 6 conference titles and been to 7 BCS games, including 4 national titles. Stoops has the championships, all Brown has been remembered for is crying on television to get his team into the Rose when OU played USC.
Jo, same to you. Call it quits. Are you really even going to say that? It's not like Bradford has never taken a sack before this year. He got a concussion his freshman year behind an offensive line with not much more experience than this one after an INT. Other than that, this is his ONLY injury. And he only aggravated that injury on Saturday. Doesn't mean he can't take a hit. Peterson was constantly getting hurt. I'm sure you're one of the people who didn't think he'd do anything in the pros because he kept getting hurt, weren't you? Now he's the best RB in the league and ran for....140...on the RAVENS. Who has allows only 2 100-yard rushers in something like 40 games. That was a bonehead comment on your part.
There's a reason I don't like Todd McShay, and there's a reason Stoops publicly cursed him and Mel Kiper to the press last year. Don't know what they're talking about. Only the NFL scouts know these things, and they aren't releasing the majority of it, especially to the ESPN.
a typical great qb would be florida's.
A rookie wage/bonus scale is a very real possibility in the next labor agreement. There may be a signficant difference in the amount of money avaialble in 2010 compared to 2011. While money isn't everything, the difference between the two years may impact the decision.
On the other hand, McShay is right. By the time the draft rolled around, Sam would have played 5 quarters in 18 months and coming off an injury to his throwing shoulder. This isn't something GM's can just wave off like a non-throwing arm injury or clean break. His draft stock will fall faster than Enron.
It is uncalled for to say "Since last season, there hasn’t been anything positive from him, and the concerns will grow as we get closer to the draft.”
Sam is an awesome player and I am sure the NFL will be ecstatic to have him....as will the Sooners.
GET WELL SOON SAM and just ignore all the talking idiots.
Whether we like what Sam decided to do or not, I will almost guarantee a coach didnt pressure him into playing, Bradford is a leader and wants to lead his team to the victory, and that sometimes hides the FEAR he may of had of getting hurt again !!
Freak accidents seem to be waiting there this year.....just finish strong and get the WINS you are supposed to get and hope everyone else can beat each other up enough to get some upsets to push yourself up the polls to get in a descent bowl. Sooners need to compete at a higher level than what has been showed lately on the offensive side of the ball and good things will happen.....
Don't be stupid, take the money and run Sam!
Todd McShay joined ESPN in 2006 as a football analyst, providing in-depth scouting information on college football players across the country, including the nation’s top NFL Draft prospects. McShay is a year-round contributor across ESPN’s multiple platforms, including SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPNU and ESPNEWS.
McShay is the director of college football scouting for ESPN Scouts Inc., where he has been evaluating prospects for the NFL Draft since 1998, during which time numerous NFL teams have utilized his reports. In 2009, McShay joined the main telecast of ESPN’s NFL Draft coverage, using Magic Board technology, analysis and debate talk-backs from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn.,studios, to Radio City Music Hall in New York City. McShay has been part of ESPN’s NFL Draft telecasts since 2006 providing analysis on SportsCenter and ESPNEWS.
Prior to joining ESPN, McShay worked full-time for “The War Room,” (1999-2006) a start-up scouting publication created by former NFL scout Gary Horton. It soon became a go-to source of information for 16 NFL scouting departments and became a crosscheck for CBS and The Sporting News. ESPN purchased the business in 2006 and changed the name to Scouts Inc.
McShay interned for Horton in the summer of 1998, after getting his first taste of college scouting and recruitment when he “cut film” for the University of Richmond coaching staff.
Before becoming one of the nation’s top NFL Draft analysts, McShay was the quarterback for the Swampscott (Mass.) High School football team (1991-94), and he was a backup quarterback for the University of Richmond (1995-97) before sustaining a back injury that ended his college career.
A native of Swampscott, Mass., McShay graduated from the University of Richmond in 1999 with a bachelors of arts in leadership studies (Jepson School of Leadership). He supports the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and National Parkinson’s Foundation, as well as an active member of Mike Gottfried’s Team Focus.
He has a very good arm, but not the strength Sanchez, and DEFINTIELY NOT Stafford, has.
One thing is certain, you can't evaluate QBs properly until the NFL teams work them out.
Also, I seem to remember a guy named Troy Aikman that played at Oklahoma a year...he started a game or 2 in the NFL.
Starting QB for the Green Bay Packers (1947 and 1948)
1947 - Threw 16 touchdowns, with 1,615 yards while leading the Packers to a 6-5-1 record.
1948 - Threw five touchdowns and 848 yards while leading the Packers to a dismal 3-9 record.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/gnb/1947.htm
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/gnb/1948.htm
With the internet, you possess a world of knowledge at your fingertips. May I suggest you utilize the worldwide web to conduct some research before using it to publish erroneous declarations you represent as fact?
Jack Jacobs
http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=JACOBJAC01
I'll post more later.