Sam Bradford should remember the toughness he's already proven

Professional athletes get to that position because of a variety of variables. Obviously, the fantastic athletic ability they possess goes a long way to getting them to that point. But it's so much more than that. No matter how good of an athlete you are at any sport, there is always somebody better. It's the internal fortitude in many cases, which propels someone above another. Of the many, many pro athletes I've been around in my career, there is one attribute that is as impressive as athleticism and it is the competitive nature that is possessed.

It is what makes this whole Sam Bradford situation so mind-boggling. Let's start by saying that pro athletes aren't immune to having feelings hurt. So that Bradford isn't pleased that his current employer will use its second overall pick Thursday night to select someone that will fill his shoes in the not-too-distant future is understandable. Somewhat.

I saw Bradford play a little bit while at Oklahoma, but not enough to form an educated opinion. I didn't follow him closely while he was in St. Louis, either. So when the Eagles obtained him, my first thought was that he must be a pretty tough guy, having overcome two torn ACL's in his left knee that cost him most of the 2013 and all of the 2014 seasons. Few things in sports are tougher to handle than a season-ending injury which requires months and months of rehab. The days spent alone trying to improve range of motion and strength, and then to get the mental stability back to where it needs to be in order to trust the injury to hold up, is agonizing. To go through it once is hard. To do it twice in such a short time period earned Bradford my admiration.

Somewhere between his return last season as the Eagles' starter to a couple of days ago when he and his agent brought up getting out of town because the Birds are going to draft a quarterback Thursday night, Bradford lost his competitive spirit.

Being alone in a rehab room, where Bradford spent so much of his time during those two injured seasons, the competition is, basically, yourself. Each and every day of his recoveries, Bradford had to push himself toward goals that weren't rewarded with the cheering fans or headlines. Bradford won those battles, got himself back to being a starting quarterback, secure enough with the work he had done to stand in a collapsing pocket and attempt to make plays.

Now another challenge has been presented to him, and he appears to be backing away. All indications are that Carson Wentz is the quarterback of the future for the Eagles, and sure that has to be a bit unsettling to Bradford. But what does he have to lose in embracing the challenge? Why not go out and have a terrific season, maybe put some doubts in the minds of the Eagles front office about their decision and, most of all, establish himself as a quality starter. So what if Wentz is waiting in the wings? Make him wait. Why not make it hard for Doug Pederson to throw Wentz into the fire?

Many say it's now impossible for Bradford to perform here after requesting a trade, as any signs of poor play will make him a relentless target of fans. So what? For the money he's making, nothing should be easy. His rehab certainly wasn't. Maybe he should remember back to those days.