Is There a Grand Plan for Chip Kelly's Loaded Eagles Backfield?

In the last 14 months, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly has parted ways with a handful of offensive players with Pro Bowls on their resumes, replacing those five—receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, running back LeSean McCoy and quarterbacks Michael Vick and Nick Foles— with a half-dozen highly skilled but asterisk-plagued veterans, all of whom reside in the offensive backfield. 

Meet the Philly Six, along with why each has an asterisk attached to his name. 

The quarterbacks

Sam Bradford: Acquired in a trade for the 2013 Pro Bowl pivot Foles, Bradford was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft, but he has played just seven of a possible 32 games the last two years due to a twice-torn left ACL. 

Mark Sanchez: Far from his days as "The Sanchize," the 2009 No. 5 overall pick was the league's lowest rated passer between '09 and 2012. He showed glimpses last year in place of the oft-injured Foles, and he's only 28, but Sanchez is still considered to be a bust. 

Quarterback	Games	Attempts	Rating
Mark Sanchez	62	1867	71.7
Chad Henne	43	1361	74.9
Sam Bradford	42	1498	77.3
Matt Cassel	48	1489	77.5
Matt Hasselbeck	52	1671	77.7

Tim Tebow: The newest addition to the quarterback fray is probably more popular than any active starting quarterback in the league. He's a lightning rod and an icon beyond the world of football, but he hasn't thrown a pass in nearly three years, and his passer rating of 75.3 ranked 33rd among 39 quarterbacks who started at least 16 games between 2010 and 2012. 

The running backs

DeMarco Murray: The reigning Offensive Player of the Year led the NFL in rushing by a 484-yard margin in 2014, but he's also been injury-prone and he carried the ball more than all but six backs in NFL history last season. He qualifies for Football Outsiders' "Curse of 370," which posits that "a running back with 370 or more carries during the regular season will usually suffer either a major injury or loss of effectiveness the following year, unless he is named Eric Dickerson."

Back	Year/age	Beyond that...
Larry Johnson (416)	'06/26	Missed half of '07, never had 1,000 yards again
Jamal Anderson (410)	'98/25	Missed 14 games in '99, 3.6 YPA rest of career
James Wilder (407)	'84/26	One 1,000-yard season the rest of his career
Eric Dickerson (404)	'86/26	Three more 1,000-yard seasons
Eddie George (403)	'00/26	Averaged 3.4 YPA rest of his career
Gerald Riggs (397)	'85/24	One 1,000-yard season the rest of his career
DeMarco Murray (392)	'14/26	?
Terrell Davis (392)	'98/26	Played only 16 more games
Ricky Williams (392)	'03/26	One 1,000-yard season the rest of his career
Barry Foster (390)	'92/23	Played only two more sub-1,000-yard years

Ryan Mathews: The 2010 No. 12 overall pick has been to a Pro Bowl and rushed for 1,000 yards twice, but he's been limited throughout his career by elbow, ankle, foot, groin, knee, calf, clavicle and hamstring injuries, which is why he's been able to play in 14 games just twice and 16 games just once during the first five seasons of his career.

Date	Player	Injured	Missed
Sept. 2010	Mathews	Ankle	1 game
Nov. 2010	Mathews	Ankle	3 games
Nov. 2011	Mathews	Groin	1 game
Dec. 2011	Murray	Ankle	3 games
Dec. 2011	Mathews	Calf	1 game
Sept. 2012	Mathews	Right clavicle	2 games
Oct. 2012	Murray	Foot	6 games
Dec. 2012	Mathews	Left clavicle	2 games
Oct. 2013	Murray	Knee	2 games
Sept. 2014	Mathews	Knee	7 games
Dec. 2014	Mathews	Ankle	3 games

Darren Sproles: A versatile speed demon who's as good of a receiver as he is a tailback, Sproles made the Pro Bowl in 2014. But he's too small (5'6", 181 pounds) and too old (32 in June) to be a workhorse. 

So that's three former first-round picks at quarterback (no other team has more than one), all of whom are either 27 or 28 years old, and three running backs who have been to the Pro Bowl. All of them have baggage stemming from injuries, performance and/or age. And unless Kelly attempts to go where no modern-day coach has gone before, more than three of them can never be on the field at the same time. 

That's what makes this so damn weird. It's one thing to collect talent, but to do so at only a couple of closely related positions while arguably neglecting other key spots is unorthodox to say the least. What exactly is Kelly attempting to do? A few ideas...

1. He's betting heavily on himself

There's little doubt that for a man with zero playoff wins, Chip Kelly has one hell of an ego. It's clear it's his way or the highway, which might explain why there's been so much turnover during his short time in Philadelphia. 

The players he parted ways with were Andy Reid's guys, not his. The great Chip Kelly doesn't inherit players, he handpicks them. That might explain why McCoy had such harsh words for Kelly after being traded to Buffalo, telling Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer that Kelly "likes the fact that it's 'Chip Kelly and the Eagles.'"

While at Oregon, Kelly once said that “we are not a Tim Tebow type of quarterback team." And yet now here he is at the NFL level, the only coach or general manager willing to give Tebow his first shot in two years. 

"So what changed?" asked Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman recently. "Kelly's ego got larger. He wants to be known as the guy who fixes Tebow. That's what changed."

That would explain why he'd bring in players like Tebow, Bradford, Sanchez and Mathews, all of whom have failed elsewhere. And a lot of folks have questioned whether Murray has the ability to sustain what he did in 2014. This gives Kelly a chance to rub his departure in the face of the rival Cowboys while showing everyone that anyone can excel under Chip Kelly, precedents and circumstances be damned. 

Not saying that can't happen. It does appear he has a knack for getting the most out of anyone in his offense. For proof of that, look no further than the 2013 campaign, wherein Jackson, Foles, McCoy and offensive linemen Evan Mathis and Jason Kelce had career years. Returning from a torn ACL, the same thing happened to Maclin in 2014. 

Kelly also looks to be betting heavily on his sports science program. Per a formula used by Football Outsiders, the Eagles have been the healthiest team in football since Kelly took over in 2013. A lot of credit for that has to go to the wide array of means in which Kelly and his staff have utilized sports science and technology in order to keep players fresh and healthy. 

Team	2013	2014	Combined
1. Eagles	32.2	48.6	80.8
2. Jets	43.0	41.5	84.5
3. Ravens	47.4	52.6	100.0
4. Bills	44.3	59.0	103.3
5. Browns	41.1	67.0	108.1

We're talking personalized smoothies, heart-rate monitors and sensors that, according to The MMQB's Jenny Vrentas, "measure an athlete’s readiness for training and competition." Plus, they even employ a full-time "sports science coordinator"—a former performance coach for the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Group 2.

Maybe Kelly believes he can find a way to get the most out of all of these guys. Maybe that's why he's gambling on so many players with asterisks. But that still doesn't explain why they all line up in basically the same area. 

2. He's giving the middle finger to the beaten path

The emphasis on the backfield is interesting because in an era dominated by passing games, the idea typically is to bring in one good quarterback and several quality receivers, tight ends and offensive linemen to make life easier for said quarterback. 

But Kelly is going against the grain. He traded away a quarterback who led the NFL in passer rating, touchdown-to-interception ratio and yards per attempt in 2013, and instead he has added three quarterback busts—one (Bradford) with a background in the spread offense, one (Tebow) who has made his money as a runner and another (Sanchez) who is more prototypical.

And while the rest of the league, considering that 2013 and 2014 were the two most pass-heavy seasons in NFL history, continues to devalue running backs, there's Kelly giving shiny new deals to both Murray and Mathews, who have similar playing styles. Now, per Spotrac, only the Minnesota Vikings—who are paying Adrian Peterson the highest running back salary in the NFL—have committed as much salary-cap space to backs. 

Team	Total
1. Minnesota Vikings	$19M
2. Philadelphia Eagles	$13M
3. Buffalo Bills	$11M
4. Chicago Bears	$10M
5. Seattle Seahawks	$10M

Considering the strange situation at quarterback and the emphasis on running backs, it's safe to assume that if Kelly intends to enter the 2015 regular season with this many established players in the backfield, he's intent on running the ball often. 

To hell with league-wide trends. The man has parted ways with 1,000-yard receivers in back-to-back offseasons. If this is what he wants his offense to look like, he's going ball control all the way. Personnel like this could lead to the type of run-heavy season we haven't seen in years. 

It also would give Kelly the opportunity to frequently screw with opposing defenses. Having to prepare for multiple quarterbacks and running backs, including versatile, unpredictable guys like Tebow and Sproles, would really make life difficult for a defensive coordinator. With so many options in the backfield, Kelly would gain the ability to implement remarkably unique game plans on a weekly basis, giving one of the smartest NFL coaches yet another edge in the chess match that is football. 

Could that blow up in his face? Absolutely. Kelly could be overdoing this, and he might wind up outsmarting himself. But it's intriguing nonetheless, especially if he decides to get really wild and implement the triple option. 

3. He's collecting pieces for more trades

It's also possible this is Kelly's way of accumulating more potential trade assets. It's safe to conclude, based on how long he was available before being signed, that Tebow has little trade value. But the fact that Philly gave up two draft picks in the trade for Bradford indicates he may have more trade value than Foles, while Murray, Mathews, Sproles and Sanchez are all expendable now that the Eagles have insurance at both running back and quarterback. 

Naturally, the Eagles have frequently been linked to top quarterback prospect and former Kelly disciple Marcus Mariota. Since he's widely expected to be picked in the top 10, it's unlikely Philly would be able to land the Oregon product 20th overall, but could Bradford and a combination of backs be enough for Philly to swap first-round picks with somebody in order to land Mariota on draft night? 

Seems far-fetched, but Bradford still hasn't signed an extension with the Eagles and we've learned that it's impossible to predict Kelly's next move.

Citing links between Bradford and the Cleveland Browns, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio has floated the possibility of a three-way trade between Philly, Cleveland and someone picking in Mariota's range:

"

Unless and until Bradford signs a new contract with the Eagles, he’s vulnerable to be traded again. Despite the public proclamations after Bradford arrived that Kelly is the only “chip” in town, rumors persist that Bradford could be a temporary member of the Eagles.

Meanwhile, the Browns have made it clear that the want Bradford, offering a first-round pick to the Rams for Bradford and reportedly/presumably offering a first-round pick to the Eagles the morning after he was shipped to Philly.

So with the Browns holding the No. 12 and No. 19 selections in the draft and the Eagles holding Bradford’s rights and pick No. 20, how about a trade that would send Bradford to Cleveland, Mariota to the Eagles, and a total of three first-round picks to someone in the top five?

"

That, again, seems surreal. But is it any more crazy than what Philadelphia's backfield currently looks like? 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon