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Report on Bradford, Foles untrue, NFL source says

The Eagles have not made a decision yet on whether they will use their franchise tag on quarterback Sam Bradford, according to a league source, despite an ESPN report Sunday that said the Eagles are not expected to use the tag on the quarterback.

The Eagles can re-sign Sam Bradford or put the franchise tag on him. They have few other viable options at quarterback.
The Eagles can re-sign Sam Bradford or put the franchise tag on him. They have few other viable options at quarterback.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer

The Eagles have not made a decision yet on whether they will use their franchise tag on quarterback Sam Bradford, according to a league source, despite an ESPN report Sunday that said the Eagles are not expected to use the tag on the quarterback.

The ESPN report also said Eagles coach Doug Pederson is interested in reacquiring Nick Foles, although the source said the Eagles have not had any discussions about Foles. With Chip Kelly in charge last offseason, the team dealt Foles in a package for Bradford that included surrendering the team's 2016 second-round pick.

Teams cannot use the franchise tag until Feb. 16, and they have until March 1. After that, there is just more than one week to re-sign a player before he is free to sign elsewhere at the start of free agency on March 9.

A team can use the franchise tag on one free agent. By signing the tender, the player would be paid the average of the five highest-paid players at his position or 120 percent of his previous year's salary, whichever is greater. If that player signs with another team instead of accepting the tag, the original team receives two first-round draft picks in compensation. The tag is used to help keep a valuable player off the free-agent market, although it comes with a significant salary in one year and also could prompt a holdout while negotiating a long-term deal.

If the Eagles use the franchise tag on Bradford, they will need to pay him about $20 million in 2016 once he signs the contract.

"Again, all those decisions with free agents, we talk to their representatives," Howie Roseman the Eagles' executive vice president of football operations, said last week about Bradford's future. "It's hard to do this through the media. But everything is positive about Sam."

The Eagles' other top unrestricted free agents are safety Walter Thurmond, defensive lineman Cedric Thornton, and cornerback Nolan Carroll, but they are not likely to get the franchise tag because they wouldn't be paid like one of the five highest-paid players at the position if they became free agents.

Foles signed a two-year contract extension with the Rams last season that is worth $24.5 million. He counts for $8.75 million against his team's salary cap next season. Foles was benched by St. Louis and finished with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Pederson coached Foles with the Eagles in 2012 and helped evaluate Foles in the 2012 draft. In fact, Pederson put Foles through a private workout that spring, according to a 2014 Inquirer report.

zberman@phillynews.com

@ZBerm

Staff writer Jeff McLane contributed to this article.