We are a long, long way from the end of the 2016 regular season. But at the moment, both the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings can tie a neat bow on the Sam Bradford trade and call it a win-win situation without much backlash.
One team is undefeated, with a quarterback playing well above replacement level. One team is 3-2 and is getting their No. 2 overall pick some real-world experience -- time in the huddle that is aiding the already rapidly developing Carson Wentz. The two teams face off this Sunday and will be eager to display the benefits they reaped from the exchange.
"I think it's been a win-win for both sides, honestly," Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said, via Philly.com. "In our case, our first-round pick, getting a chance to play this early, getting his feet wet, learning, putting us in a great spot at 3-2. He's played a lot of football and is getting better every week.
"From their standpoint, they got a good quarterback. He went to a playoff-caliber football team with a tremendous defense."
All of this is true so far, though we run the risk of getting ahead of ourselves a little bit. As natural as Wentz looks on the field right now, there is likely an inevitable leveling out still to come with the rookie. This is not to say that Wentz will regress, but as more information is available on both the quarterback and his new head coach, the parameters will change and we will get the opportunity to see how talented he truly is.
The same can be said about Bradford in Minnesota's offense. In many ways, he's a different quarterback than he's been throughout his career. Norv Turner represents the most professionalism and stability that he's seen since coming into the league in 2010. His completion percentage is five points higher than it has been at any point in his career and Bradford is playing with the best offensive line and defense that he's ever been surrounded by.
The NFL has a way of coming back around on all of these trends. Will we still be calling this a win-win a few weeks from now?
