The Eagles have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with the quarterback, who was set to become a free agent at 4 p.m. on March 9.
The two-year deal is worth $36 million, with $26 million guaranteed, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The two-year deal gives the team flexibility moving forward and also gives Bradford the chance to earn a bigger deal in a couple years.
Prior to the deal, the Eagles had about $30 million in cap room for 2016. It's unclear how much cap room this deal will take up, but either way, the team will have some space to work with.
The 28-year-old, who was acquired in a trade with the Rams last offseason, came to the Eagles with one year left on his rookie contract. Bradford played in 14 games in 2015 and got considerably better as the season progressed, as he got further away from his second ACL surgery. In the final seven games of the 2015 season, Bradford completed 68.2 percent of his passes with 1,959 yards (280 per game), 10 touchdowns and four interceptions, for a passer rating of 97.0.
In all, he threw for 3,725 yards in 2015, good for the fourth-best season in Eagles history.
Eagles vice president of football operations Howie Roseman clearly wanted to get Bradford's deal done before the start of free agency. Tuesday's 4 p.m. deadline to franchise players likely created a sense of urgency to get the deal completed. Had the Eagles franchised Bradford and he signed the tag, he would have been paid just under $20 million in 2016, with a cap hit to match. This two-year deal will be much more manageable.
With Bradford under contract for two more seasons, the team can focus on filling other needs in free agency. The issue at quarterback was the biggest question mark hovering over the franchise since Doug Pederson was hired as the new coach.
Roseman met with Bradford's agent, Tom Condon, last week at the combine. Condon also likely got a chance to determine what the market would be like for his client.
Bradford continually said he wanted to be back, despite the coach that brought him in, Chip Kelly, getting fired. New head coach Doug Pederson said he had conversations with Bradford recently and the quarterback still contended that he wanted to be back. Pederson, during his introductory press conference, said Bradford would fit perfectly into his offense.
Several of Bradford's teammates, including Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz, were vocal about wanting Bradford back in 2016. Matthews and Ertz seemed to click with Bradford in the second half of the 2015 season.
Just because the Eagles are bringing back Bradford, it doesn't mean the team won't draft a quarterback in late April. In fact, the short length of Bradford's deal might make the decision to draft a quarterback even easier. And Pederson likes the idea of a young quarterback learning from a veteran.
