Skip to content
Eagles
Link copied to clipboard

Pederson: Sam Bradford still the man at QB

Doug Pederson said Monday that nothing has changed with the Eagles' quarterback situation since the last time we talked to him six weeks ago.

Sam Bradford still is the starter.

Chase Daniel still is the backup.

And rookie first-round pick Carson Wentz still is No. 3.

"I've said all along that Sam's the guy,'' Pederson said after rookies and selected veterans, including Bradford, Daniel and Wentz, completed their first training camp workout in the broiling sun and suffocating humidity at the NovaCare Complex.

"You've got to get through four (preseason) games and a lot of preseason. But going into Sept. 11, Sam's the guy. I'll stick with that. Chase is our No. 2, and Carson is our No. 3.''

Pederson said he still hasn't made a final decision on how he'll divide the quarterback reps among the three of them when the team commences full-squad workouts on Thursday. But he clearly is leaning toward an equal share early on.

"I'm not officially there yet,'' he said. "I do know this. Your first two preseason games, typically, your starters don't play a ton. You're trying to save them for that third game and then get them ready for the regular season.

"So we will focus on the 2s and 3s a little bit more early in camp and probably give them the bulk of the reps. And then ramp the guys up who we think are going to be the opening-day starters. We'll get them more reps towards the end of camp.''

Pederson said there is no plan – at least not right now – for either giving Wentz some limited game reps during the season or making him the starter later in the year, like Andy Reid did with Donovan McNabb back in 1999 when Pederson was the team's starting quarterback.

"It's a little different scenario than we had in 1999,'' Pederson said. "Donovan really came in as the No. 2.

"Right now, we're just going to get Carson as many reps as we can. Get him caught up. Get him to where he needs to be. I'm very comfortable and excited with where Sam left OTAs and where he's coming in now. Chase is a solid two. We'll just have to wait and see what happens down the road.''

Pederson said he wants both Daniel and Wentz to be "starter ready'' when the Eagles open the season Sept. 11 against Cleveland.

"You want (Wentz) to be in a position where if there's an injury or somebody goes down, you plug him in and you don't have any worries,'' Pederson said. "You're fully confident in his ability to take over. Because backup quarterbacks need to be ready to go in an instant.''

Pederson stressed that Wentz, despite being the second overall pick in the draft, despite showing a lot of promise in the spring OTAs, still has a lot of work ahead of him.

"He came in ready to go,'' the Eagles coach said. "You just love everything about this kid. His energy, his work ethic.

"It's just little things now in his footwork and his drop. Progressions. Where his eyes are. Those are the things that in the National Football League from a quarterback standpoint really become very important on game day. And those are the things we need to continue to work with him on going forward.''