Are The St. Louis Rams Pushing Sam Bradford Too Much in Training Camp?

With NFL training camps finally under way, week one of the 2014 season is in sight.  One player that will have all eyes on him this season for the Rams, is quarterback Sam Bradford. Coming off of a season ending knee injury and with the urgency to win, this is a big year and big offseason for the Rams quarterback to say the least.

Due to the fact that Bradford is dealing with the knee injury, the Rams took it easy on their franchise quarterback during OTA’s, not allowing him to participate on back to back days. However, thus far in training camp Bradford has taken all of the reps. Is it possible that the Rams could be making a mistake and pushing Bradford too far, therefore aggravating the injury?

When it comes to the knee, one can never be too cautious. The Washington Redskins made this mistake last season with Robert Griffin III starting the quarterback much earlier than they should have. Redskins GM Bruce Allen had this to say about Griffin III,

"“Last year at this time, he was still rehabbing his knee, and he wasn’t allowed to practice or work in team drills. We put him on the spot by trying to do that.”"

The Redskins played Griffin III, who had been hyped up all offseason, too early and paid the price of a disastrous 4-12 season. Obviously this is something that the St. Louis Rams would like to avoid.

Bradford has said that his knee is fine saying,

"“I feel great. My knee feels really good. It feels better than when we finished OTAs. I finished those last two OTAs pretty strong. It feels even better now. In talking to (Head) Coach (Jeff Fisher) and (Head Athletic Trainer) Reggie (Scott), they feel good about having no limits. If it starts to get a little sore and we feel like we need to pull back we can always do that. Out of the gate I’m going to try and do everything.”"

Bradford’s knee may feel fine now, but certainly the Rams would want to keep it cautious headed into the 2014 season. In order for this team to win, Bradford is a key piece of the puzzle, Shawn Hill isn’t going to lead this team to the playoffs.

The Rams aren’t going to win regular season games in training camp and the preseason, therefore it may be a good idea to play it safe with Bradford and ease him in similar to what they were doing in OTA’s. As the old saying goes, “It’s better to be safe, than sorry.”

And the St. Louis Rams can’t afford to be sorry.

Do you think the Rams are pushing Bradford too hard in training camp? Let us know in the comment section below.