Chip Kelly's firing leaves Sam Bradford's future up in the air

ON SOME LEVEL, Sam Bradford must wonder that he can't catch a break.

After the Eagles disappointing loss to Washington on Saturday night, the Eagles quarterback, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, said he wanted to stay in Philadelphia.

Bradford talked about stability and not wanting to go through the process of learning a new offense again. He said he believed he would have that here.

Then Tuesday night, head coach Chip Kelly, the guy who handpicked Bradford to direct this offense, got fired.

As a result, Bradford's career is in chaos again. Even if he stays in South Philadelphia, he'll begin next season in a new offensive system.

"Did I say that?" Bradford, who, like every player in the Eagles' locker room Wednesday, was stunned by the changing events, said of not wanting to learn a new offensive system.

"Obviously, I would love to be in the same system. It's only happened to me once in my career. But at this point, whether I'm here or somewhere else, I'm going to be learning a new system. That's just part of it."

At times, Bradford did not look completely comfortable in Kelly's up-tempo attack. The read-option aspect of the offense was not an option because of Bradford's lack of running ability.

Still, the former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall NFL draft pick has been playing good football down the stretch. He was happy with Kelly and the offense.

"I didn't see this coming," Bradford said. "When I got the news (Tuesday night), I was shocked. I'm not the guy who makes those decisions, so I can't speculate on why.

"I don't know what (Kelly's relationship) with other people was, but I had a great relationship with Chip. He gave me an opportunity, after two years of being injured. I believe he's a good football coach.

"I don't think he lost the locker room. He didn't lose me, I know that."

Kelly's removal just adds more complications to an already complicated situation concerning Bradford and any future he has with the Birds.

Before the Kelly bombshell, my column idea for today was that the Eagles should put the franchise tag on Bradford. That was the best solution, because it would give Kelly another year to determine whether Bradford was the Eagles' long-term solution at quarterback.

If it worked, Bradford would get an extension. If it didn't work, Kelly was probably going to be fired anyway and the Eagles would not be stuck in a long-term deal with a quarterback whom a new coach might not want.

Now Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and whoever will make the player personnel decisions must determine whether Bradford will be a fit in whatever the new offense will be.

Is Bradford's body of work under Kelly enough to make that determination?

"Obviously, the future is uncertain right now," Bradford said. "It's the same for everyone in this locker room."

Eagles second-year receiver Jordan Matthews said it should not be a tough call.

"I mean, (Bradford) has played in every system," said Matthews, who has 78 catches for 943 yards with six touchdowns this season. "He's already played for different coaches.

"The biggest question mark with Sam since he came here was 'Can he stay healthy?' Well, a freak thing happened to his shoulder, but he only missed two games.

"Everybody saw him grow, get more confident and get better. I feel the same. I want Sam here. I would love for him to be my quarterback."

That's up in the air for now.

Despite Bradford's improvement throughout the season, he is not of the caliber of Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Cam Newton or Russell Wilson.

After missing two seasons with back-to-back ACL injuries, Bradford answered the questions about his health, but his team still missed the playoffs with a losing record.

With Kelly gone, it's not a slam dunk that the Eagles will want Bradford as their franchise quarterback.

Matthews again simplified things.

"By and large, if you look at the quarterback market, Sam is one of the best ones out there," he said. "I know there are some guys coming out in the draft, but there is no name like Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota.

"The free-agent quarterbacks; I feel Sam is at the top of the list. If you already have the highest quarterback on the open market on your team, I think keeping him would be a good idea."

That's what the Eagles' brain trust will have to decide, because, right after hiring Kelly's replacement, the quarterback moving forward has to be addressed.

"I still enjoy the guys on this team," Bradford said. "I enjoy the city. I enjoyed my time here. A lot of it will depend on who they hire as the head coach and what kind of offensive system he wants to run.

"Chip was great to me. It's tough to lose him. I learned a lot about the game of football from him. I'll be forever grateful for the opportunity he gave me.

"But right now, I'm really just focused on this last game (Sunday at the New York Giants). After we get this finished, I can sit down and think about what the future holds."