The Eagles have reportedly upped their offer to free agent Sam Bradford, indicating they have some interest in bringing him back as their starter in 2016. That may be surprising to some. The team has a new coaching staff, and Bradford led a thoroughly mediocre campaign in 2015.
But maybe the team realizes they're just as likely to do worse without Bradford as better; more likely, perhaps. Bradford didn't have a great season, but it was more productive than most of the league's quarterbacks.
In terms of yards per game, for example, only 10 full-time starters were more productive last year than Bradford. That's in contrast to, say, Nick Foles, the guy they traded for Bradford. He was at the bottom of the league's starters in that regard. None of the players ahead of Bradford will be looking over their shoulders in 2016.
Philadelphia has to be careful about saying goodbye to their starter, because things could be worse. For most teams, they were.
Regular NFL starting quarterbacks in 2015 (at least 2,000 passing yards), sorted by passing yards per game, are presented below.
| PASSING YARDS PER GAME, 2015 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Comp | Att | Pct | Yds | Yds/G | TD | Int |
| Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 319 | 469 | 68.0 | 3,938 | 328.2 | 21 | 16 |
| Drew Brees, N.O. | 428 | 627 | 68.3 | 4,870 | 324.7 | 32 | 11 |
| Philip Rivers, S.D. | 437 | 661 | 66.1 | 4,792 | 299.5 | 29 | 13 |
| Tom Brady, N.E. | 402 | 624 | 64.4 | 4,770 | 298.1 | 36 | 7 |
| Carson Palmer, Ariz. | 342 | 537 | 63.7 | 4,671 | 291.9 | 35 | 11 |
| Matt Ryan, Atl. | 407 | 614 | 66.3 | 4,591 | 286.9 | 21 | 16 |
| Joe Flacco, Balt. | 266 | 413 | 64.4 | 2,791 | 279.1 | 14 | 12 |
| Eli Manning, NYG | 387 | 618 | 62.6 | 4,432 | 277.0 | 35 | 14 |
| Blake Bortles, Jax. | 355 | 606 | 58.6 | 4,428 | 276.8 | 35 | 18 |
| Matthew Stafford, Det. | 398 | 592 | 67.2 | 4,262 | 266.4 | 32 | 13 |
| Sam Bradford, Phil. | 346 | 532 | 65.0 | 3,725 | 266.1 | 19 | 14 |
| Josh McCown, Clev. | 186 | 292 | 63.7 | 2,109 | 263.6 | 12 | 4 |
| Ryan Tannehill, Mia. | 363 | 586 | 61.9 | 4,208 | 263.0 | 24 | 12 |
| Kirk Cousins, Wash. | 379 | 543 | 69.8 | 4,166 | 260.4 | 29 | 11 |
| Blaine Gabbert, S.F. | 178 | 282 | 63.1 | 2,031 | 253.9 | 10 | 7 |
| Jameis Winston, T.B. | 312 | 535 | 58.3 | 4,042 | 252.6 | 22 | 15 |
| Russell Wilson, Sea. | 329 | 483 | 68.1 | 4,024 | 251.5 | 34 | 8 |
| Andy Dalton, Cin. | 255 | 386 | 66.1 | 3,250 | 250.0 | 25 | 7 |
| Derek Carr, Oak. | 350 | 573 | 61.1 | 3,987 | 249.2 | 32 | 13 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick, NYJ | 335 | 562 | 59.6 | 3,905 | 244.1 | 31 | 15 |
| Jay Cutler, Chi. | 311 | 483 | 64.4 | 3,659 | 243.9 | 21 | 11 |
| Cam Newton, Car. | 296 | 495 | 59.8 | 3,837 | 239.8 | 35 | 10 |
| Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 347 | 572 | 60.7 | 3,821 | 238.8 | 31 | 8 |
| Brian Hoyer, Hou. | 224 | 369 | 60.7 | 2,606 | 236.9 | 19 | 7 |
| Marcus Mariota, Tenn. | 230 | 370 | 62.2 | 2,818 | 234.8 | 19 | 10 |
| Peyton Manning, Den. | 198 | 331 | 59.8 | 2,249 | 224.9 | 9 | 17 |
| Alex Smith, K.C. | 307 | 470 | 65.3 | 3,486 | 217.9 | 20 | 7 |
| Tyrod Taylor, Buff. | 242 | 380 | 63.7 | 3,035 | 216.8 | 20 | 6 |
| Teddy Bridgewater, Minn. | 292 | 447 | 65.3 | 3,231 | 201.9 | 14 | 9 |
| Nick Foles, St.L. | 190 | 337 | 56.4 | 2,052 | 186.5 | 7 | 10 |
--Andy Richardson