clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Conflicting reports come out on who wanted Sam Bradford

The Arizona Cardinals may have gotten Bradford over two other teams... Or maybe not

NFL: Arizona Cardinals-Sam Bradford The Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

On Tuesday the fate of the Arizona Cardinals team changed when they decided that their future was in Sam Bradford and not in Kirk Cousins.

Based off the report from Peter King, that decision was made for them, much to their benefit in my opinion, and they moved on quickly and decisively to Bradford.

When the news broke on Bradford to the Cardinals, Arizona Sports insider John Gambadora reported that the Cardinals not only sought out Bradford, but got their man over two other teams at a lower rate than the other teams were offering.

Gambo reported that the two teams were the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. Well, when Peter King reported on the courtship of Kirk Cousins from the Vikings, Jets and Cardinals, King had a very interesting nugget:

The Jets’ veteran quarterback fallback was Josh McCown, a McCartney client. The Jets had to position themselves to make sure that when the music stopped and the musical chairs got filled, they’d still be able to get McCown—at least. By later that morning, Tuesday, they were talking McCown with McCartney. But Buffalo also was seriously interested in McCown, so the Jets put their best contractual foot forward there and ensured they’d keep the trusted veteran who played so well last year, at 38.

This would indicate that Cardinals were the team focused on Bradford, while the Jets and Bills were already looking elsewhere. Maybe the pursuit of Bradford by the Jets and Bills was similar to the Broncos pursuit of Cousins, they checked the cost and then moved on. But, Gambo was stating that they offered money, more money in fact.

After Bradford’s contract details emerged, it could have been more money in the sense of $25 million, but maybe only $8-10 million guaranteed.

This is always something that happens on signings, draft picks, and other moves when teams leak information that they know will get out that shines them in a good light.

For instance, the Miami Dolphins said they took Ja’Wuan James in 2014 at 19 because they Cardinals were going to take him 20.

This is not to call the report untrue by any means, but instead to share different information provided.

What do you think?