Sam Bradford Trade

I know it's old news by now but I thought that I'd give my opinion on the Vikings trade for Sam Bradford.  I know they paid a steep price but I fully support the trade. Let me break it down.

First of all, I was shocked and saddened by Teddy Bridgewater's injury, I had seen steady progress out of him going back to his first start and I fully believe that he was ready to take that next step this upcoming season.  At this point, I'm just hoping that it's a one season setback and not a career threatening injury.  Fact is, he had extensive damage to his knee, this was not just a torn ACL/MCL, he also had a dislocated knee cap, that's some serious damage and I personally would be shocked if he is ready to go start next season either.

Secondly, even though I'm fine with Shaun Hill as the backup QB, I'm not fine with him being the long term starter.  His role, at most, should be to come in and fill in for a game or two if needed, not to start 16+ games.  There is no doubt in my mind that going with him as the starter this season would have been a recipe for disaster.  He's old, he's slow, he doesn't have the greatest arm.  The idea that Hill just holds onto the position until Taylor Heinicke get's healthy at which point Heinicke becomes the starter is fool-hearty too.  As much as I was impressed with Heinicke in last years training camp, the fact is that he has never thrown an NFL pass let alone taken an NFL snap and he just missed the entire training camp this year, he's nowhere ready to be an NFL starter.

Third, I think that Sam Bradford is every bit the QB that Teddy Bridgewater is, some may even say he is a vastly superior QB than Teddy Bridgewater.  I know that last years statistics may not back that up (at least the vastly superior part), but don't forget that Bradford was badly miscast in Chip Kelly's offense last year too, I think the Vikings system is a much better fit for his abilities.  Anyone who's watched the two play have to admit that Bradford has a much better arm than Bridgewater and his ability to stretch the field could benefit Adrian Peterson too.  And don't forget that the Vikings won 11 games last year with Teddy Bridgewater as QB, that should certainly be possible for Bradford too.

As to the price tag, yes it was high, but given the talent that is assembled on this team I really don't think they had much choice.  They have arguably a top 5 NFL defense, they have a small window of Adrian Peterson, they have a billion+ dollar new stadium, they have had 9 first round draft picks in the last five years, they have a nice crop of receivers, it all adds up to being aggressive and taking a chance on Bradford.  And don't think for a moment that trader Rick Spielman won't trade back into round one of next years draft either if the opportunity presents itself.  Anyone who thinks they could survive just fine with Hill/Heinicke learned absolutely nothing from the Arizona Cardinals and Ryan Lindley debacle from a couple of seasons ago.

One last note, I think the Vikings are absolutely right to start Shaun Hill in week one.  One week is not nearly enough time for any QB to pick up enough of an NFL system to implement it (the thought of it gives me flashbacks to Josh Freeman).   Give him a week or two, let him learn enough of the system and then unleash him.