Sam Bradford Says He 'Never Considered' Following Chip Kelly to 49ers

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford did not think about joining Chip Kelly in the Bay Area.

Fresh off signing a two-year, $36 million deal with the Eagles on Tuesday, Bradford told the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane on Thursday that a possible reunion with Kelly—who was named the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in January—was something he "never considered."   

Kelly replaced Jim Tomsula in San Francisco after the Eagles fired their former architect before Week 17 last season. Bradford, who went 7-7 in his first year as Philadelphia's starter, played well in his final seven games under Kelly by throwing eight touchdowns and only four interceptions.

Bradford only went 3-4 in that stretch, but that included a win over the New England Patriots on Dec. 6.

After back-to-back 10-win seasons, the Eagles traded quarterback Nick Foles to the Los Angeles Rams, then of St. Louis, in 2015 in exchange for the former No. 1 overall pick on March 13. Bradford was in the final season of his six-year rookie deal with the Rams that totaled $78 million. 

It turned out it was Kelly's call to get Bradford. As the coach revealed Dec. 10, per ESPN.com's Phil Sheridan, trading LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills was a way to free up space to take on Bradford's contract. The former Oklahoma Sooner earned close to $13 million last year, per Spotrac.

Bradford is 25-37-1 in his six-year career and has not made the playoffs. With as much confidence as Kelly had in Bradford, it would not have been a surprise to see the 28-year-old in San Francisco. But the Eagles showed they have as much, if not more, confidence in Bradford by offering him what could turn out to be $18 million a year for the next two seasons.

Despite the Eagles missing the playoffs the last two years, Bradford has a better chance to make his first trip to the postseason under new head coach Doug Pederson than he would have with Kelly and the 49ers.

Stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com. Follow Danny Webster on Twitter.