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Bradford's agent: 'There is no real competition'

Tom Condon, agent for Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, spoke last Thursday to Andrew Brandt, a former agent and front office executive for NFL teams, including the Eagles, on Brandt's "Business of Sports" podcast, available at RossTucker.com.

Condon mostly reiterated points he made in a few interviews granted when he made public his request that Bradford be traded, a little more than a week ago. But Condon showed that he was aware of criticism of Bradford for not being willing to compete for the starting job with rookie Carson Wentz, whom the Eagles traded up to draft second overall last week.

"Clearly, if Sam's in the locker room, all of the other players -- the players always know what's going on -- ... they know that Sam's a short-term guy, and he's just there until the rookie is ready to go. So that's not a particularly favorable situation for (Bradford). And I know people say, 'Why doesn't he just compete and win the job?' There is no real competition" with a QB drafted so high, that a team had to expend extra resources to acquire, Condon said. "He's playing, and that's all there is to it.

"Ideally, (Bradford) would get to go someplace and establish himself and be there for some lengthy period of time. That certainly isn't going to be in Philadelphia."

The Eagles have said Bradford is their starting quarterback this season. They would like to be competitive while giving Wentz plenty of time to adjust to the NFL -- he started just 23 games in college, all at the FCS level.

Brandt probed more than previous interviewers have into what Condon and Bradford were told by the Eagles when they signed Bradford's two-year, $35 million contract back at the beginning of March. That deal will pay $18 million this season.

"Certainly, the fervor that they pursued Sam (with), in terms of trying to get something done prior to the time free agency occurred would give you reason to believe that they valued Sam," Condon said. "Certainly, the dollar amount and the guarantee amount (indicated) they were committed to Sam as their starting quarterback. Somewhere in there, things changed, based on their evaluation of what they thought was potentially available in the longterm plans for the franchise."

Condon did not say Bradford was told he would be the longterm starter.

Condon reiterated that Bradford will not appear at voluntary workouts, which resume May 17 for veterans. (However, the podcast was recorded just before last week's draft, in which the prime possible Bradford destination, Denver, traded up to take quarterback Paxton Lynch in the first round. So we don't know for certain that position still holds. Condon has not responded to requests for comment from the Daily News.)

Condon said he would "hold off" on saying whether he would give back part or all of Bradford's $11 million signing bonus to gain his freedom.

Condon said dealing with fan outrage over Bradfford's desire to leave the Eagles is "not terribly pleasant," but he would do "whatever's required to get the result that's best for the client."