Bradford not worried about Wentz, future with Eagles

PHILADELPHIA -- Sam Bradford said it doesn’t bother him that this will likely be his last season as the Eagles’ starting quarterback.

In fact, he seemed especially happy as the Eagles opened training camp for rookies, quarterbacks and selected veterans on Monday.

After all, Bradford is newly married, he feels comfortable with his teammates, and perhaps most importantly, he is full healthy for the first time in training camp in three years.

Eagles coach Doug Pederson has already named Bradford the starting quarterback for this season, despite the fact that the Eagles traded up to draft his ultimate successor in Carson Wentz.

“I think at this point, I’m just trying to come out here, get better each day, try to make this team better, try to help this team win games and do my job to the best I can,” Bradford said when asked about the possibility of this being his last season in Philadelphia. “That’s all I can control. Whatever happens, happens.”

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Pederson again said Wentz is the third-string quarterback. He has also said that the plan is for Wentz to learn behind Bradford and backup Chase Daniel. That could make it seem like a glorified redshirt season for Wentz, especially when Pederson said last month that Wentz would likely be inactive on game days.

But Pederson said Monday that’s not necessarily the case.

“We don’t know that [he'll be inactive on game days] his entire rookie year,” Pederson said. “We can’t speculate that far out. But going into the season, there is a good chance it starts that way.”

That, of course, leaves a lot for interpretation. Does that depend on Bradford getting hurt? Or playing ineffectively?

Pederson admitted that it could be a delicate balancing act with making sure Bradford is in the right frame of mind, while also making sure Wentz, taken No. 2 overall in the draft, can become “starter ready” even if everyone knows the plan is for him not to play.

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“This is the thing that [the coaches] laid out in the offseason,” Pederson said. “We were going to have to massage this a little bit and make sure all three guys understand their roles. Carson fully understands where he’s at. He knows he has to get better. He knows he’s not there yet. It’s going to be a slow process, but we don’t have much time.”

Wentz is used to this.

In high school, he didn’t start until his junior year as he grew into his 6-foot-5 frame. It was the same in college at North Dakota State as he sat while the Bison won three straight FCS national championships. North Dakota State won two more championships with Wentz at the helm.

“It’s totally out of my control,” Wentz said. “I’m out here every day. We have a long camp ahead of us, a lot of work to put in. The biggest thing I’m focused on is helping this team get better, helping myself get better.”

Wentz said to that extent, Bradford and Daniel have helped. The three quarterbacks and several of the wide receivers got together for a few days during the break in San Diego to throw, work out and relax. Bradford, who left the team for two weeks when the trade to draft Wentz was made in late April, said he got to know Wentz a lot better in San Diego.

“He’s a good dude,” Bradford said. “We had a good time. We went paddle-boarding one day. It was a lot of fun. I guess him being from up north, he was used to the cold water. I wasn’t a big fan of the Pacific Ocean. Just going out there and spending time with all of the guys, it was great.”

But Bradford said he has something to prove. He’s fully healthy after spending the previous two offseasons recovering from consecutive ACL tears. That means he didn’t have to spend the offseason rehabbing for the first time since the summer of 2013.

Instead, he was able to work on strengthening his lower body. Bradford said he’s about five or six pounds heavier than he was at this time last year, weighing in at 219 on his 6-foot-4 frame.

Pederson said he knows the kind of difference Bradford’s overall health can make.

“I think it’s huge. It’s everything,” he said. “It’s just a tremendous boost, mentally, physically, the whole thing. I know that’s where Sam’s at. I know that’s the mindset coming into this camp.”

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.