Sam Bradford has already stayed healthy longer than some people expected.
Bradford completed his fourth day of practice at Eagles training camp Thursday, and pronounced himself not only healthy but ahead of where he anticipated.
“I think I feel better than what I was expecting,” he said. “I thought my knee would hold up, but I wasn't sure. I hadn't put it through four days of practice, coming into camp, but the way my knee feels right now, it feels great. So I’m really happy with where I’m at right now.”
Bradford’s last two seasons have ended in torn ACLs, and he’s played in only seven games since the end of the 2012 season – all in 2013.
The Eagles haven’t babied Bradford along. He’s been a full participant in each practice, he’s taken almost all the first-team reps, and he hasn’t had to back off at all.
"We talked about that from Day One,” Bradford said after practice Thursday. “When I wasn't taking reps in OTAs, the goal was that when training camp got here I would not be limited, and that's where we are so far. And for me I need the reps. And being able to get all those reps, it's been really good for me.”
It’s not like Bradford hasn’t shown signs of rust. He has. Until Sunday, he hadn’t participated in any full-team drills since he tore his ACL in a preseason game in Cleveland last August.
This will take a little time. But four days in, the Eagles are encouraged.
“I think he's just getting back into the speed of things,” Chip Kelly said before practice Thursday. “The one thing he had not done -- he did a little 7-on-7, but there's no pass rush in the offseason program.
“So it’s just good to see him back out in 11-on-[11] and a rush around him and having to adjust and move up in the pocket. He actually took off and ran two days ago in the Linc on the one where everybody was covered and he made a good decision there. It's just a process of him getting more familiar with the speed and tempo of things.
“I think each day, he's progressed and gotten better. So he's right on track for where we thought he would be after three days.”
Bradford still has a long way to go. You see him make a big throw and then misfire on the next rep. That's not surprising considering he hasn’t played a regular-season game in 21 months.
Opening day in Atlanta is just over five weeks away. He’s got a lot of missed action to make up for.
But so far, so good. Just the fact that Bradford is experiencing no soreness is encouraging.
"Especially after Tuesday's practice," he said. "The first two practices were about an hour and a half and then we ramped it up, went two hours, my throw count went up considerably and it felt good, too."
Bradford said the biggest challenges he's facing right now are mental, not physical.
"Not playing football in over a year, getting back out there, getting my mind back to making decisions as quick as they need to be made, and also getting familiar with the playbook,” he said.
“It's one thing to get reps in seven on seven or watch it on film, it's another thing to get them live in team and I think it's been good the first few days. I've got a lot of reps, and everything's felt pretty good so far.”
The next big test for Bradford comes a week from Sunday, when the Eagles open the preseason against the Colts at the Linc.
It will be Bradford’s first game since Aug. 23, when he suffered that second ACL in a preseason game in Cleveland.
"It's crazy,” he said. “It seems like just yesterday I was in Cleveland walking to the locker room, and I thought this day would never come. But here we are, a little over a week away. Get out there and play some real football. That's always exciting.”