Daily News Agenda: Should Sam Bradford choose to return to Eagles?

If you were Sam Bradford, and you had other options, would you want to come back to the Eagles?

I might. If you were Sam Bradford, and you had other options, would you want to come back to the Eagles?

It would depend a lot on the options, which are hard to evaluate right now.

If the Houston Texans, who have DeAndre Hopkins, Bill O'Brien and J.J. Watt, would like to pay me the market rate for a starting quarterback, and the Eagles' aren't gonna franchise me, then hasta la vista, Haddonfield, N.J., point me to the correct exit off Houston's Southeast Freeway for River Oaks.

In Houston, I would inherit a playoff-ready team that might lack only a QB, a team whose coach used to work with Tom Brady. The area also is culturally more like what someone who grew up in Oklahoma is used to.

But I've already made $78 million. I'm not trundling off to, say, Cleveland, just because the Browns might pay me a mil or two more than Howie Roseman has in mind.

Then again, who knows if Houston or Cleveland (which drafts second overall) or any other team really values me more than what it might get through the draft? Finding that out is why I pay my agent, Tom Condon.

The rest of the equation is how I fit in now with the Eagles. Roseman, Doug Pederson and Frank Reich have all said nice things. There's no reason to think this version of the West Coast offense will be terribly different from what I ran originally in St. Louis.

The franchise could have sent a much stronger signal to me by keeping Pat Shurmur around. Had they made him the head coach, you'd assume I was staying. If he'd remained as offensive coordinator, you'd figure there was a good chance. If they'd tried to get him to accept quarterbacks coach, that might not have been so great for Pat, but it would have been an olive branch to me.

Instead, Pat's coaching tight ends in Minnesota, waiting for Norv Turner to retire. No big gesture toward me from the Eagles.

But Teddy Bridgewater isn't going anywhere; the Vikings aren't signing me.

Maybe that's the real answer to your question - if Houston doesn't step up to the plate, what are my options, exactly?

Even though the Eagles' record wasn't what we'd hoped, my knee held together, I finished well, I liked my teammates, they liked me, and I have to think the offensive line, at least, is going to improve in the offseason. This might be the place for me, after all.

Probably not. If I was Bradford, my preference would be to put Philadelphia in my rear-view mirror and find a new NFL home.

The coach who traded for me and believed in me enough to give up his starting quarterback and a second-round pick despite the fact that I was coming off back-to-back ACL injuries and was due $13 million last season, is gone.

So is his offense, which means I'm going to have to learn yet another new one whether I stay or go. So there's no real X's-and-O's benefit.

Even though I played very well the second half of the season, even though I set franchise records for completions and completion average, Eagles fans hardly embraced me.

A town that has spent much of the last two decades calling Jeff Lurie cheap suddenly is losing sleep over him overpaying me. What's up with that? Why weren't you bitching last March when they gave Byron Maxwell a $63 million contract?

And you can't get a good chicken fried steak or a pork-chop sandwich anywhere in Philly or South Jersey. And I'll take Whataburger over Five Guys any day of the week.

Listen, Bradford skeptics can talk all they want about his injury history and his won-loss record and the 10 interceptions he threw in the first half of the season last year.

The fact of the matter is, if the Eagles either don't put the franchise or transition tag on him by March 1 or re-sign him by the start of the free-agency signing period on March 9, he goes to the tippy-top of the list of free-agent quarterbacks, and somebody else gladly is going to give him an $18-20-million-a-year deal.

I suspect one of those suitors will/would be the Houston Texans. If I'm Bradford, Bill O'Brien will/would have me at hello.

A quarterback whisperer as my head coach. DeAndre Hopkins catching - not dropping - everything I throw to him. A talented defense that will keep us in games and not force me to throw the ball 50 times.

My Oklahoma City hometown a hop, skip and a jump away. A fan base that will be so happy I'm not Brian Hoyer or Ryan Mallett or T.J. Yates or Brandon Weeden, they'll be sprinting to the Texans' pro shop to buy my jersey.

If I'm Bradford, would I want to re-sign with the Eagles?

Hell, no.

It could be a hard choice, but Sam Bradford should remain an Eagle.

Any significant offer from the Houston Texans would be tantalizing for Bradford, especially considering the presence of wideout DeAndre Hopkins. However, the Texans need to retain their offensive line, three-fifths of which could leave via free agency.

An Oklahoma native and a Sooner legend, it would be hard for Bradford to reject a homecoming of sorts, to a playoff team in a weak division. The Texans are the sort of team that can win now, with a quarterback. As such, they might be willing to give up enough to warrant an unusual sign-and-trade of Bradford, after the Eagles hit him with the franchise tag, and after he signs it. The Eagles lack a second-round pick, remember, and they need offensive-line depth - and, of course, a quarterback, if Bradford goes away.

Still, with new coach Doug Pederson in town, he should not go away.

Pederson made Alex Smith a Pro Bowl quarterback in 2013. Smith was even better in 2015. Bradford's above-average arm, above-average size and above-average caution virtually mirror Smith's. Their career interception rate of 2.3 percent is tied for sixth all-time. Michael Vick also enjoyed his best season (2010) as a passer when Pederson coached him in Philadelphia.

Pederson will install a new offense, but it will be similar to what Bradford ran under Pat Shurmur as a rookie in St. Louis; both fell from Andy Reid's coaching tree.

Yes, the Eagles' offensive line was shaky in 2015, but Jason Peters can't be cooked already and Jason Kelce just needs a few more smoothies.

No, Bradford didn't have many weapons, but Zach Ertz is a special tight end, Jordan Matthews had a solid sophomore season and Nelson Agholor was only a rookie.

Despite those issues, Bradford enjoyed a splendid finish to his comeback season. If things fall right, he has a chance to win now, with an NFC East team, a marquee division that is absolutely putrid. There are few things more intoxicating than that.

No matter where Sam Bradford signs his contract for 2016, the free-agent Eagles quarterback will be well-paid.

What he should consider most in his decision is how it will affect his NFL legacy.

Bradford, 28, has been a chronic loser since being drafted No.1 overall in 2010. He's never played for a winning team.

The next five years will be his opportunity to show he has the chops to be a championship quarterback.

The team that offers the best chance to do that is where Bradford should go.

It takes a leap of faith to believe that rookie head coach Doug Pederson can immediately take the Eagles to the playoffs - even in a bad division.

There will likely be opportunities for Bradford to go to a team that is set up better to win now than the Eagles.

If one of three teams make a reasonable offer, Bradford should leave South Philadelphia.

The New York Jets went 10-6 with journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, whose self-destruction in the season finale cost them a wild-card spot.

Wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker combined for 189 receptions, 2,529 yards and 26 touchdown catches.

The defense was the only one ranked in the top seven that did not make the playoffs.

The Houston Texans won the AFC South with a 9-7 record and a quarterback carousel that ended with Brian Hoyer.

Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (111 catches for 1,521 yards with 11 touchdowns) is a rising star. The defense was ranked third in total defense and seventh in fewest points allowed.

Thanks to a defense ranked first in total defense and fourth in fewest points allowed, the Denver Broncos are in the Super Bowl with soon-to-be 40-year-old quarterback Peyton Manning.

Win or lose, Manning, who has one year left on his contract, is done as a quality starter. His backup, Brock Osweiler, who made seven starts, is average.

Receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Harris are reliable targets.

It's hard to believe that a Super Bowl team needs a franchise quarterback, but the Broncos do.

If Denver, the Jets or Houston call, Bradford should answer.

Sam Bradford should, and probably does, care about two things when it comes to where he wants to play next season and supposedly beyond.

One is how much is he going to get paid, since you don't get in this position very often. And second, what situation gives him the best chance to succeed on the field? And I'm not sure which is the most important consideration, which is not meant as a knock on him. Which one of us wouldn't want to be in his shoes? The circumstances make him a commodity. Even if he gets franchised by the Eagles, which is the last thing he wants, he still will make a boatload next season, with the chance to make even more after that. But I'm not convinced the Eagles will make him the best offer. And even if their offer is equal to another team's, I'm not convinced he won't leave.

Options are good. So is leverage. In the NFL, you need a quarterback. And we all know there aren't enough of them to go around. Now, if the option is Cleveland, any quarterback might want to think twice. Unless that's the only other possibility. But what if, say, the Texans are interested, which they might be? You can go to a team that just made the playoffs, albeit in a bad division because the Colts were without Andrew Luck most of the season. And you go to a coach in Bill O'Brien who has a reputation for developing QBs. And you're closer to Oklahoma, if that matters. But even if it doesn't, an offer from Houston would seem to be something you'd have to at least weigh.

The Eagles, on the other hand, don't have a lot of options in all this. They obviously don't want to make the kind of financial commitment that Team Bradford is seeking, but what do they do if he leaves? Go with Mark Sanchez for a year, while you try to develop somebody from the draft who may or may not turn out to be the next guy? Not very appealing, especially when you play in a division where nine wins might win it again. The Eagles could, of course, end all the speculation by franchising Bradford. But with all the money they've just put out to re-sign some of their other guys, and with the Fletcher Cox extension still waiting to get done, that might not be so appealing either, given their salary-cap issues. They could make Bradford's decision easier by saying they're going in a different direction. They just have to be sure that's their best/right move. And there hasn't been a subject in recent history that seems to have caused so much debate within the Birds' fan base.

I think unless he is franchised, Bradford will test the market. Maybe he's even looking forward to it. Or maybe he likes the offense the new coach oversaw in Kansas City. But he kind of owes it to himself to see what else might be out there. This is his last big contract. He could always get injured again, so I'm sure he's looking at many years and lots of guaranteed money. Why not? He holds most, if not all, of the cards. He played better in the second half of the season. And again, he doesn't have much competition in the marketplace. Heck, maybe Chip wants him in San Francisco. Kind of makes you wonder what would had happened if he were still here. Remember, all it takes is one team to think you're worth the price.

Ed Barkowitz No

Les Bowen: Yes

Bob Cooney Yes

Doug Darroch Yes

Jim DeStefano Yes

Paul Domowitch No

Sam Donnellon No

Marcus Hayes Yes

Adam Hermann Yes

Rich Hofmann No

Dick Jerardi Yes

Mike Kern No

Jim DeStefano Yes

Tom Mahon No

Drew McQuade Yes

David Murphy Yes

John Smallwood No

Bob Vetrone Jr. Yes

Deb Woodell No