New reports suggest Sam Bradford was the driving force in holdout

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The Sam Bradford saga was just coming to a close in Philadelphia. The Quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles had given in after a brief holdout and returned to offseason activities this week, signifying the end of a controversial struggle to try and secure a long term future.

Many were quick to point the fingers at one of the NFL’s most powerful NFL Agents, Tom Condon as the main driving force behind the holdout..but recent reports suggest that Sam Bradford had a much bigger impact in the events following the drafting of Carson Wentz.

On Wednesday, Sal Paolantonio of ESPN appeared on 97.5 The Fanatic and revealed some interesting updates on the Bradford holdout. (You can listen to the full interview here)

“When the trade was made, Doug Pedeson, Howie Roseman, and Jeffrey Lurie had a meeting with Sam Bradford, (and this is way before he had any sort of conversation with Tom Condon.)  In that meeting, he did not like the idea that the Eagles had traded up to No. 2 and expressed his displeasure..rather emphatically. He walked out of the meeting and told them he was leaving and he wanted to be traded and was going back to Oklahoma.”

“…They thought they had a plan. The plan was to get him traded to the Denver Broncos but the Eagles weren’t playing. They weren’t going along with the plan. “

“..On Sunday night after the draft is over, I’m speaking to Condon on the phone and Condon tells me he’s going to call Bradford late Sunday Night. Then they go dark. For a week, nothing happens. No phone calls returned. No texts returned from Sam Bradford to the organization”.

“..On Sunday night before Bradford before comes to NovaCare, Condon again calls him and and Bradford said, ‘I’m going in.’

“..Bradford was driving this decision, not his agent.”

So it appears as though Bradford had acted off of his own instincts and his agent Tom Condon was doing the best to make the most of a fire that was rapidly spreading. With limited contact and Bradford having evidently already made up his mind, it would explain why Condon’s interviews seemed so transparent.

If that wasn’t enough however, Condon appeared on the Rich Eisen Show to talk about the situation. (Again, you can view to the full segment here.)

It’s clear from watching this that Condon was simply scrambling to find the best option for a client who had simply begun to dig himself a hole without thinking of the long-term consequences.

” When you look at it, the Eagles made a buisiness decision and it was good for them, Sam made a business decision that had the opportunity to be good for him..didn’t work out. So we take our next best option which is to play great and see where we are next year.”

What’s done is done and the best thing for Bradford to do now is focus on his future (however long) in Philadelphia. It’s certainly surprising to hear that Bradford had more push in this situation than Condon..and whilst his teammates may have welcomed him with open arms as we believe, the front office may still have their rightful reservations over a Quarterback who was extremely quick to act in an attempt to secure a long-term future elsewhere.