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Sam Bradford: Deadly Moore tornado hit close to home

Sam Bradford was born and raised in Oklahoma. He lives there to this day, residing in the north section of Oklahoma City.

Bradford was at home packing for St. Louis Rams organized team activities when a tornado ripped through the nearby town of Moore, leaving a trail of death and destruction in its wake.

"We didn't get hit, but just watching it live on TV was really hard," Bradford said Tuesday, according to CBSSports.com. "Then, seeing the photos that have come out ... prayers go out to everyone's who affected by the tornado.

"It's just really sad. It's just hard to see that happen. You never think it can happen at home, and then to see something like that ... in a city and a state that I love dearly ... it's really hard to look at."

Tornadoes are part of life in Oklahoma, and this isn't the first time Bradford has been in close proximity to one. He remembers when Moore was rocked by another destructive tornado in 1999.

"I remember driving through Moore after that tornado came through (in 1999), and it was maybe a year or two before things were back to normal back there," he said. "You could drive through it months after it happened and literally see the track that the tornado left -- and that's something that our city and that community thought they were never going to have to go through again.

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"I'm sure there are people living in Moore who survived the '99 tornado that thought they would never have to go through another tornado like that, and, then, what is it -- 14 years later? -- almost the same track and another tornado of monster proportions rips through that community. It's hard to see that."

Bradford made it to Rams headquarters in time for Tuesday's practice. He acknowledged his attention wasn't fully on football.

"It was definitely difficult today in the sense that I was constantly checking my phone," he said, "and I found out two of our strength coaches at the University of Oklahoma lost their homes yesterday to the tornado. So you're constantly checking your phone and making sure they're not finding any more bodies and making sure everyone's been accounted for.

"So, yeah, my mind's definitely been there most of the day today."

Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.