Why the Vikings' move for Sam Bradford keeps Minnesota's Super Bowl hopes alive
In the preseason, it's easy to think your team is a Super Bowl contender, but the Minnesota Vikings actually believed they had a chance to win the team's first Super Bowl this season.
And why wouldn't they? They had Adrian Peterson still in his seemingly endless prime; a defense that is could arguably be the best in the NFC this season; and Teddy Bridgewater managing the game and giving the Vikings that little extra something they had missed in prior years from the quarterback position.
But Bridgewater is now out for the season — and perhaps longer — after tearing the ACL in his left knee and dislocating his femur in a non-contact situation in practice.
His backup, Shaun Hill, isn't going to lead the team to a Super Bowl — the Vikings don't need much from their quarterback, but Hill isn't going to do the main job that's asked of a Minnesota QB: keeping defenses honest.
So the Vikings traded for Sam Bradford on Saturday.
In exchange, they'll send a 2017 first-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2018 to Philadelphia.
The Vikings made the move because Bradford can get the job done.
Bradford is a lightning rod for debate — since he was drafted, he's been among the league's highest-paid players, though he's never truly been able to live up to his perceived NFL potential — but he's exactly what the Vikings need right now and into the future.
Bradford can make all the throws; behind a solid offensive line — something he hasn't had but for a few fleeting games in his NFL career — he can give you that little extra something the Vikings wanted this season; and he's more than capable of being a game manager for a team whose only true requirement of quarterback is "don't lose the game."
The first-round pick is a steep price for a quarterback who was surely going to be on the bench in Philadelphia by mid-season, but that's the cost of desperation. And make no mistake — the Vikings desperately needed a quarterback following Bridgewater's injury.
Just because one of the three tenets of your Super Bowl bid falls through doesn't mean you're now a bad team — Bridgewater was nowhere near as essential to the Vikings' success this season as Aaron Rodgers is to the Packers'. The Vikings are a team that wants to run the ball on first and second down and probably third down too. They want to win with defense. Bridgewater threw more than 40 passes in a game once last year — a loss to Denver.
The Vikings don't need Bradford to do much more than hand the ball off and covert third-and-7s. In his career, Bradford has been asked to save the Rams almost singlehandedly and run a Chip Kelly offense — surely he'll cherish the chance to play in an offense that doesn't need him to be great.
Denver is a good corollary for what the Vikings are trying to do this season, and Hill was going to be Minnesota's Trevor Siemian. Don't forget, Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler were replacement-level players at best last season, and the Broncos still won the Super Bowl. Those quarterbacks didn't lose games, and by virtue of that, the Broncos won them.
Bradford won't lose the Vikings any games — not in that system — and he might even win them a game or two. And if you can upgrade from Trevor Siemian (in this case, Hill) — whether through Paxton Lynch or a seasoned veteran — you take that opportunity. (Doesn't say a lot about Mark Sanchez, right?)
This is where Peterson's age looms large — how much longer can the endless prime continue? This is a question of games, not years, now. The Vikings don't have any room to mess around. Once Peterson goes, the Vikings' offense will need a reboot — he's a transcendent player and one of the best running backs of all-time and you don't just replace that with Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon and expect everything to be all right.
With that clock ticking, Minnesota had to make sure it wasn't losing much at the quarterback position — the Vikings had to patch the hole before the season started.
Was Bradford worth a first-round pick? Probably not. But that's what the marketplace demanded and the Vikings didn't have an ounce of negotiating room. Another large factor in this — and a reason why the Vikings traded for a veteran like Bradford and not a career backup like Chase Daniel — is that Bridgewater is unlikely to ever be 100 percent of himself again after that injury; his was anything but a normal ACL tear. The Vikings don't only need a new quarterback for this season, but they'll need one for perhaps a good deal of next season as well.
Bradford isn't special, but he can helm an offense that doesn't need him to be "the man." The first-round pick with a fourth-rounder tossed into the mix is a lot, but that's what it costs to get a starting quarterback when you have a small window to succeed and a long period of time where you might need a replacement.
But by getting Bradford, the Vikings will be able to execute the gameplan they want this season: one that could have them playing in Houston in February.
