The Philadelphia Eagles weren't the only team pursuing Sam Bradford when the new league year kicked off last week.
NFL Media's Charley Casserly reported on Monday's edition of NFL AM that the Cleveland Brownsoffered a first-round draft pick for Bradford.
Coach Jeff Fisher told PFT Live last week that the Rams were offered a late first-round pick for Bradford and turned that down, preferring Philadelphia's compensation package.
At the Wednesday press conference announcing the trade last week, coach Chip Kelly revealed that the Eagles had already been offered a first-round pick for Bradford that morning.
We can glean several items from Casserly's report:
» For all of the criticism of the Eagles for overpaying, they weren't the only team that placed a high value on Bradford. The Rams and Browns, if notmore clubs, also set Bradford's value at a first-round pick -- at the very least.
» If Kelly was truly planning a trade up for Oregon's Marcus Mariota, it's hard to believe he would choose Bradford over stockpiling another first-round pick as ammunition for the giant leap up the draft board. Rejecting the Browns' offer lends credence to sentiment from the Eagles' website that Kelly identified Bradford as a "special talent who can make this offense soar."
» The Rams didn't want to get left without a veteran quarterback. They preferred Foles and a second-round pick to the late-first round option.
» The Browns aren't counting on Johnny Manziel as a factor this season. If they were willing to surrender a first-round pick for Bradford, what's to stop them from pulling the trigger on a quarterback in the first few rounds of next month's draft?
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