The Arizona Cardinals introduced their new starting quarterback Friday afternoon and it only took a few minutes for an inquiring media member to ask Sam Bradford about the health of his left knee which caused him to miss all but one game with the Minnesota Vikings in 2017.
“I feel good right now,” Bradford said without hesitation. “Obviously last year was difficult. After the procedure I had in November I was able to rehab and take care of myself and get myself back in a position to play.”
The Bird Gang is hoping Bradford will not only be able to play, but play well under a re-modeled, new-look coaching staff and the return of key playmakers like Larry Fitzgerald and running back David Johnson who, like Bradford, missed the majority of last season due to injury.
“There are some pieces on the offense, some playmakers,” Bradford explained. “It’s easy to see, as a quarterback, people you can get the ball to who can make plays. Obviously, the defense has been really good for quite a while here.”The former University of Oklahoma star and number one overall pick is familiar with the NFC West and playing at University of Phoenix Stadium during his time playing for the St. Louis Rams.
Here are some of Bradford’s career highlights courtesy of a email released by the team to the media Friday morning.
* Posted the best season of his career with the Vikings in 2016 when he established an NFL single-season record for completion percentage (71.6%). That record was eclipsed by Drew Brees (72.0%) in 2017.
* Set a Vikings franchise record with 395 completions in 2016 and became the first player in NFL history to throw five-or-fewer interceptions while attempting 550+ passes in a season. Bradford threw just five interceptions on 552 attempts that year.
* Threw for a career-high 3,877 yards with 20 touchdowns and had a career-best 99.3 passer rating (fourth in Vikings history) in 2016 with Minnesota. He had a 100+ passer rating in a career-high eight games (tied for second in Vikings history) and had 10 games without an interception (tied for the most in Vikings history) that season.
* In 17 starts over two seasons with the Vikings (2016-17), Bradford completed 71.8% of his pass attempts with 23 touchdowns, five interceptions and a passer rating of 101.1. He completed at least 70% of his pass attempts in 12 of his 17 starts with Minnesota.
* In his lone season with the Eagles in 2015, Bradford set a franchise record for completion percentage (65%) and has the second most completions (346) and fifth most passing yards (3,725) in team history.
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