Poor Chase Daniel, nobody ever pays attention to him in Philadelphia. So he’s just going to keep reminding us how there he is.
The other Eagles quarterback — not the big-money free agent and not the No. 2 overall pick in the draft — keeps coming to work, doing his job teaching the offense and not making waves. That’s not the same as being quiet.
For the second time this offseason, there was a subtle note of “Hey, I’m over here,” in his statements.
While most of the focus yesterday was on Sam Bradford’s awkward return and his relationship with Carson Wentz, veteran stable-pony Daniel said everything’s just fine with him.
“There’s a reason they brought me here. It wasn’t necessarily to just sit on the bench and not push people for starting jobs,” Daniel said, via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “But I think there’s a fine line there. I’m a professional. I’ve been in about every situation you could possibly be in. . . . So I have a clear view of what’s expected of me and the funny thing is I expect even more out of myself.”
While Bradford reacted to the trade-up to get Wentz by demanding a trade, Daniel just kept showing up for work. Of course, if Bradford weren’t around, he’d be the starter while Wentz learns to play in the offense Daniel’s practically helping teach. So when asked about Bradford’s protest over the deal for Wentz, Daniel was matter-of-fact.
“Everybody handles their business a little differently,” Daniel said. “My thought process was, ‘Hey, it’s awesome. They’re bringing a guy in.’ That’s the story of my career. I’ve always had to fight for everything I’ve had. Not saying that Sam hasn’t . . . just for me it was a welcome competition.”
There’s a genuine chance that Daniel’s just being genuine, and didn’t mean to suggest that he was happy to compete while Bradford wasn’t. But he’s also the same guy who sent out the “happy to be here” message while Bradford was staging his brief walk-out.
Daniel also has a chance to earn an extra $15 million for himself if he wins the starting job and keeps it, so he has economic interests here too.
But at a time when Bradford knows fans are killing him in Philadelphia, Daniel has once again made it clear he’s there for all the right reasons, and he’s happy to do so.