Sam Bradford hasn’t exactly been known for airing it out in his career.
But when free agent wide receiver Chris Givens was looking for a new team this offseason, he signed with Philadelphia because he’s convinced Bradford is capable of it.
“His strengths match my strengths: he can get the ball downfield and I can get downfield,” Givens said, via Tim McManus of PhillyMag.com.
Givens did have his best season as a rookie, alongside Bradford in St. Louis. He hasn’t matched his rookie numbers since then, and Bradford hasn’t exactly established himself as having a cannon, as his 7.0 yards per attempt last year were a career high, and he has a pedestrian 6.5-yard career average.
Givens also said his plateauing had something to do with the guys who replaced Bradford after injuries, which puts the Rams problems into context.
“It was definitely frustrating but at the same time, I accept full responsibility for not working the way I should have in the offseason and being the receiver I was capable of [being],” Givens said. “I just got a little complacent and a little comfortable knowing that I had Sam and things like that, and once things went south a little bit and I really didn’t have a quarterback to play to my strengths, I couldn’t really do the things I needed to do to get open.
“So I just looked at that as an opportunity for me to look in the mirror and fine-tune the things in my game that it will take for me to take my game to the next level.”
The Eagles could clearly use someone with Givens’ kind of speed to stretch the field, but it remains to be seen if Bradford is the kind of guy who can take advantage of it.