Bradford Wows at Pro Day

Monday, March 29 has been circled on the St. Louis Rams calender for several weeks, and everyone from the organization who was in attendance in Norman, Oklahoma today came away from quarterback Sam Bradford’s pro day workout with huge smiles on their faces. The young signal-caller was everything we expected and more as he took to the field today, and he truly solidified himself as the top prospect heading into this year’s draft. He was in outstanding shape, and he went through the entire 63-throw workout (13 warm-ups and 50 passes) without showing hardly any fatigue. Oh yeah, I almost forgot… Bradford also completed all but one of his throws, and the one pass that did hit the ground bounced off of his receiver’s hands. We knew he was accurate, but he couldn’t have put on a better show today even if he wanted to. With that being said, Rams fans need to take this for what it is worth. This workout was set up to put Bradford in perfect conditions to allow him to put his best foot forward. He wasn’t facing a pass-rush, and we still have no idea how he will react when giant defensive lineman are bearing down on him and safeties are sitting in the secondary waiting to pick him off. The Rams plan on working him out again on April 19, (just three days before the draft) and it is believed that the team will put him through a much more extensive and physically taxing workout on that day. There is no reason to believe he won’t come out of that session smelling like roses as well, but it is surely worth keeping an eye on. As of right now, it looks like we have our franchise quarterback. Or so it would seem…

A disturbing report came out today from several league sources that Bradford could refuse to sign a contract with the Rams prior to the draft. If that is the case, the team will have a major decision on their hands. If they take Bradford and he holds out, this organization could take a major step back when they can afford to do no such thing. Option 2 would be to draft Bradford and then try to trade him, although they might not get full value for him due to their lack of leverage in the situation. The third and final option would be to pass on Bradford and take one of the defensive tackles, likely Suh. While this wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, it would certainly look bad if the team has Bradford as their top player at a need position and are forced to pass due to signability. The fan base will have a difficult time swallowing that move, and the organization can’t afford to drive away fans any more than they have already done. While these are just reports and not necessarily facts, it is enough to make me extremely nervous. For now, all we can do is wait and hope that this thing works out. If not, it could be another stain on an organization that absolutely can’t afford any more blemishes on its resume.

Below is a link to a video of Sam Bradford discussing his workout with ESPN’s Todd McShay.

Bradford on Workout