There’s the incumbent starter, who was at least briefly disgruntled about the way the draft went down. Then, there’s the wide-eyed No. 2 overall pick, the future of the franchise.
And finally there’s Chase Daniel, in the middle. Literally.
Daniel’s locker is quite literally between Sam Bradford’s and Carson Wentz’s in the Eagles' locker room. His space is inherently a buffer zone between the present and future for the franchise at quarterback.
On top of it all, Daniel knows the offense better than any other player in the building after suiting up for Doug Pederson in Kansas City, so it’s his job to help Bradford keep the job he covets and help Wentz eventually take it.
“You’ve got to check your ego at the door, man,” Daniel said Tuesday during OTAs. “It’s not about me. It’s not about Sam. It’s not about Carson. It’s about the betterment of the team. I think if you asked all three of us, we would do everything and anything to make the team better. No matter what the coaches ask.”
Daniel said it’s important for he and his fellow quarterbacks to forge relationships on and off the field. He hangs out with Bradford and Wentz outside of the building and vehemently claims there’s no awkwardness within the position group. Not even at the first meeting between Bradford and Wentz.
Daniel said it was just important for all three to check their egos and get to work.
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As soon as the draft concluded, Pederson was quick to name Bradford the team’s starting quarterback, followed by Daniel and Wentz. But last week, things got murkier when offensive coordinator Frank Reich talked about the competition at the quarterback position.
“There has to be an order,” Daniel said. “I think every position on this team is an open competition, and I think Doug made that apparently clear the very first team meeting we had. He said we’re going to bring in competition and every single one of you is going to compete your butt off daily because in turn, that makes the team better.”
The 29-year-old Daniel, who speaks like a coach, harped on the word “trust” Tuesday.
He said the trust he and his teammates form now will help them during the season and that teams who have that trust and have worked on forming relationships can only benefit from the process.
“You’ve got to trust in your teammates like you do in your family, because they are your family,” Daniel said. “They really are. You’re with them seven, eight months out of the year. I see these guys seven days a week. I see them more than my wife sometimes. Sometimes, I wish I don’t. But it’s truly about way more under the surface than what it looks.
“Players trust coaches, coaches trust players, players trust players. You have to trust your teammates. You have to trust your left guard is going to get a three-technique bum rushing you, trying to kill you. You have to trust in every possible thing that the coaches are saying and putting in front of you because it’s in the best interest of the team.”
