Is It Possible For Sam Bradford To Come Back?

By Blaine Grisak | Feb 14, 2015

The St. Louis Rams have committed themselves to another year of Sam Bradford. That was backed up once again as Frank Cignetti was introduced as the team’s offensive coordinator.

This is by far a make or break season for Bradford to say the absolute least. He needs to show Fisher, Snead, and the fans for that matter that he is a quarterback that can be built around for the future of this franchise.

He will have to do it against the odds. Coming off of two ACL tears to the same knee isn’t an easy thing to do for a normal person let alone somebody who has to perform at a professional level. Tom Brady, Jamaal Charles and Adrian Peterson are among recent examples of some players who come back good as new from their knee injuries, but there’s a smaller list of players who’ve returned from the same injury twice.

Coming off of one ACL tear is one thing, but a second is difficult to come back from both physically and mentally, especially given how much work Bradford has had put in to get back to 100%.

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In recent years there are only a handful of players to do it, one of them doing it three times. Those players include defensive tackle Casey Hampton of the Pittsburgh Steelers, linebacker Thomas Davis of the Carolina Panthers, and wide receiver Domenik Hixon of the New York Giants.

The big difference here is that none of those players played quarterback. The one that might be the most similar to Bradford’s situation is Hixon as he tore his in back to back years as well in 2010 and 2011.

Hixon went on to have the second-best season of his seven-year NFL career in 2012, grabbing 39 catches for 567 yards the very next year after back to back ACL tears.

The only quarterbacks in recent years to have torn his ACL multiple times are Robert Griffin III, and Carson Palmer. While we have yet to see how Palmer returns from his injury, what we do know is Griffin III is no where near the quarterback he was before his second tear.

Every knee injury is different, and while both of Bradford have been said to be “flukey”, that doesn’t make it any easier for him to make a comeback. When a player tears their ACL it is said that it at least takes at least a full season for that player to become more comfortable.

Bradford has now torn the same ACL twice. Like a quarterback who sees shadows with an unreliable offensive line, will it even be possible for Bradford to trust stepping into his throws that use the same knee thats let him down the past two seasons?

This has yet to be seen.

The Rams offensive line was ranked 30th in pass blocking on Pro Football Focus last season, allowed the 13th most sacks in the NFL and allowed a quarterback hit once every 17 offensive snaps. What’s to say Bradford doesn’t get hurt yet again?

Unless the Rams can miraculously re-build their offensive line, Bradford could have flashback of 2011.

Bradford has only played 49 of a possible 80 games over the past five seasons and hasn’t played a meaningful snap since week seven of 2013. After only throwing nine passes since 2013, there is without a doubt going to be some rust. Training camp and watching the game on the sideline can only do so much. Nothing can simulate the speed of an actual NFL regular season game.

What is known is that Bradford is a talented quarterback. He has proven he has all the aspects of a franchise quarterback despite the injuries. Les Snead and Jeff Fisher have finally built a team around him, now all they need is Bradford.

Nobody said it was going easy, and obviously the odds are going to be against the Rams quarterback. What will make it easier is that for the first time in his career he will have a solid running game, a top-10 defense, and reliable offensive weapons. If the Rams can build an offensive line around him Bradford will have the best supporting cast in his career, and that makes coming back from two ACL tears a lot easier.

Next: Frank Cignetti The Best Hire For Sam Bradford

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