Sam Bradford’s make-or-break year could be over before it even began.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, initial optimism has become real concern that Saturday night’s knee injury suffered by Bradford may have indeed damaged the new ACL that replaced the one he tore last year, after starting the season with 14 touchdown passes and four interceptions.
An ACL tear would represent a major blow for the Rams, who would be required to pay Bradford another $14.015 million in 2014. Including this year’s wages, Bradford will have made more than $65 million since entering the league as the first overall pick in the 2010 draft. And it will leave Bradford under contract for one more year, at a base salary of $12.985 million.
The team’s high degree of confidence in Bradford resulted in the Rams opting not to select a quarterback until round six, when Garrett Gilbert arrived via the 214th overall pick. If Bradford misses part or all of the season, Shaun Hill becomes the starting quarterback, with Austin Davis as the backup. The Rams possibly would explore acquiring a veteran, such as Vikings third-stringer Christian Ponder.
Or maybe even Tim Tebow.
That’s only partially a joke. The Rams are one of the few teams to show any sort of interest in Tebow over the past few years. With a crippling defense and Tebow’s panache for turning close fourth-quarter games into dramatic wins, maybe Tebow becomes the best option.
It also would give offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer a chance to display the ultimate one-fingered salute to the Jets, who dumped Schottenheimer not long before embarking on their disastrous one-year Tebow experiment.