Sep 3, 2016

  • Ben GoesslingESPN Staff Author

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    • Previously covered Vikings for St. Paul Pioneer Press
    • Also covered Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Wild and Washington Nationals
    • Twin Cities native and University of Minnesota graduate

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings, who lost starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater for the 2016 season with a astringent left knee injury, acquired Sam Bradford in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sat.

In return, the Eagles will receive the Vikings' first-round draft pick in 2017 also as a conditional fourth-rounder in 2018.

If the Vikings accomplish the NFC Championship Game this flavour, the conditional 4th-round pick in 2018 will become a third-circular pick, according to sources. If the Vikings win the Super Bowl, it will get a second-circular pick.

The Vikings had inquired most Bradford after Bridgewater's injury earlier this week, sources told ESPN's Adam Caplan, but the Eagles were said to be happy with Bradford's progress this preseason. Talks picked up Friday, but even past Saturday forenoon, Bradford believed he'd be in Philadelphia for the season.

"My initial reaction was surprise," Bradford said. "It's something I really didn't think was a possibility. It kind of caught me off guard, just I recall later the surprise, I was quickly filled with excitement for a new affiliate and the opportunity ahead of me."

General director Rick Spielman said Thursday night he wouldn't mortgage the Vikings' future to learn a quarterback who might be in Minnesota just for the 2016 season. On Saturday evening, though, Spielman said he believed he hadn't done that with the trade for Bradford, giving two reasons: With eight picks in the 2017 draft, including ii in the 3rd and 4th rounds, the Vikings still have the power to move back into the first round next leap. And with Bridgewater'southward recovery potentially stretching nearly the beginning of the 2017 season, the Vikings liked that they'd take some other pick for 2017 in instance Bridgewater wasn't prepare.

"Mortgaging the future, to me, was asking for some of our younger players -- electric current Pro Bowlers or pregnant players on this roster," Spielman said. "That's where I said I would not mortgage the time to come, giving whatsoever of the immature players that are currently on our roster up. I think everybody knows how we feel about Teddy, merely to me, it was just too unique of an opportunity to bring in a caliber of player similar Sam Bradford. Going into next year, we have two very talented quarterbacks."

With Bradford's get out, commencement-circular choice Carson Wentz is expected to be the Eagles' starter if he has sufficiently recovered from his rib injury, sources told ESPN. Wentz suffered a hairline rib fracture during the team's first preseason game Aug. 11 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and did not play in the final three preseason games.

The Eagles traded with the Cleveland Browns to move up and select Wentz at No. two overall in this year's draft.

Though the Eagles said they had planned to bring Wentz along slowly, Philadelphia'due south executive vice president of football operations, Howie Roseman, said Wentz'due south preparation has accelerated the timetable.

"Our interaction with him and our discussions with him, he's come a long way, even since we got him in April," Roseman said.

Roseman added that Eagles brass already felt Wentz would be ready to take over as the team's starter should the opportunity to trade Bradford arise.

"He'due south worked out the last couple of days earlier he came dorsum to practice and merely seeing him with his receivers and his ability to verbalize the play call and, really, his comfort level in that," Roseman said.

Despite the praise of Wentz's rapid maturation, Roseman said the Vikings' interest is what ultimately led to the move.

"This was not our blueprint; this was not part of the plan," he said. "Only as we sit, we have to be flexible, and we have to be able to take advantage of opportunities that give us an opportunity to go where we desire to exist. Our organization has had a run of success at some bespeak, but we are trying to go that trophy, and to do that, sometimes you've got to do things like this that aren't so like shooting fish in a barrel to do the week before the season starts."

Chase Daniel is likely to begin the regular season as the Eagles' backup.

Bradford re-signed with the Eagles in March to a 2-twelvemonth, $35 one thousand thousand deal with $22 million fully guaranteed. The Eagles paid Bradford's $eleven meg signing bonus, a source told Caplan, simply the Vikings are responsible for the rest of his contract -- $20 million in base of operations salaries and a $4 million March 2017 roster bonus.

Bradford now will play for his sixth offensive coordinator, Norv Turner, in seven seasons. Vikings tight ends bus Pat Shurmur was Bradford'southward offensive coordinator with the Eagles last season and for 2 seasons (2009-10) with the Rams. Shurmur's input, Spielman said, played a major role in the Vikings' decision to trade for Bradford. Roseman gave Vikings director of sports medicine Eric Sugarman, who worked for the Eagles from 2000 to 2005, permission to speak direct with Philadelphia's medical staff, and Spielman said the Vikings felt comfortable with the health of Bradford, who has torn the ACL in his left knee twice.

Bradford, the first overall pick in the 2010 draft out of Oklahoma, has thrown for 14,790 yards, 78 touchdowns and 52 interceptions in 63 career games, all of which take been starts.

He will be reunited with old Sooners teammate Adrian Peterson, who was told of the merchandise before Saturday's Oklahoma-Houston game.

"I'thou pumped," Peterson said.

The Vikings had four quarterbacks on their roster, but they waived undrafted rookies Joel Stave and Brad Sorensen, while putting second-yr signal-caller Taylor Heinicke on the reserve/not-football injury list. Heinicke could exist ready to practice in 3 weeks, league sources told ESPN, but would not be able to return for the starting time six weeks of the season.

Journeyman quarterback Shaun Loma had taken over as the starter after Bridgewater was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. Spielman would not say whether Hill or Bradford would start on Sept. eleven against the Tennessee Titans, but information technology'south believed Loma -- who has been with the Vikings for ii years after his 2014 season equally Bradford'south teammate in St. Louis -- has the border to start the kickoff game because of his familiarity with the offense. Bradford said he planned to immerse himself in the Vikings' playbook on Saturday evening, and if he doesn't kickoff against the Titans, he could be set for the Vikings' Sunday night dwelling house opener the following calendar week confronting the Greenish Bay Packers.

ESPN'southward Adam Caplan, Adam Schefter, Dan Graziano and Jake Trotter contributed to this report.