Only 30 minutes after the official announcement, Eagles executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman stood in front of a room filled with reporters and cameras explaining why and how the Eagles completed a trade with Cleveland that sends the No. 2 overall pick in next week's draft to Philadelphia.
Roseman confirmed the team will select a quarterback and answered a number of follow-up questions around the subject, including what this all means for the Eagles' current starter Sam Bradford.
Here are the biggest takeaways from his press conference ...
Bradford Is The 2016 Starter
Roseman's message regarding Bradford was simple and it was one of the first orders of business he addressed on Wednesday afternoon. The Eagles signed Bradford to a two-year contract earlier this offseason and they are committed to the signal-caller. He will not be traded and will be the starter in 2016.
"Let me be clear. Sam Bradford is our starting quarterback," Roseman said. "We've told Sam that. We intend to support him and the moves we made this offseason we believe will give us a chance to compete this season."
Bradford was made aware of the trade earlier in the afternoon, before the team took the field for minicamp. He was told by Roseman, Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie and head coach Doug Pederson. But, no one is concerned about Bradford's focus moving forward.
"He's a pro," Roseman said. "I have no concerns about Sam's professionalism and he's competitive."
Goff or Wentz?
By trading up to the No. 2 spot in the draft, the Eagles guaranteed themselves one of the top two quarterbacks. The question is which one? With the first-overall pick, the Rams will have their choice of either Jared Goff or Carson Wentz. Whichever one they don't choose will fall to Philadelphia.
For the Eagles, this trade with the Browns is not one they would have considered without being satisfied selecting either of those two players.
"I think it goes to the point you have to be very comfortable with both those quarterbacks and believe they have a shot to be great, to be Pro-Bowl caliber," Roseman said. "If you felt really strongly about just one and you didn't feel like you knew the direction (the Rams are) going in, then you'd wait until you were on the clock to make this trade.
"The compelling thing for us was when we went about doing this research and looked at what the landscape looked like, not only in the college market, in the NFL market, but the possibility that a lot more teams were needing quarterbacks or that you'd go forward and you'd need a quarterback three years from now and even if you're picking in the top five, teams that are at one or two wouldn't trade out. For us, it was a bigger risk of all those factors going forward. Maybe the certainty of it cost a little bit more, but the upside on that from our franchise and from our position was not worth the risk."
And while Roseman said he and the Eagles do not know which quarterback Los Angeles will draft, they feel confident about their situation headed into next Thursday.
"We're very sure we're going to get the guy we want," Roseman said.
Taking Advantage Of The Opportunity
Once the Eagles moved from No. 13 to No. 8 in the draft earlier this offseason, they realized the unique opportunity in front of them and refused to let it pass. Roseman and the team believe moving to the No. 2 pick to select a quarterback can help shape the future of this franchise, which is exactly why they did it.
"It's hard to be great if you don't take some risks," Roseman said. "When you look at it, there are very few sure things at any position in the draft. You go back and you research it with whatever position you're talking about, let alone the quarterback position, but it's a great opportunity for someone who not only has the coaching that we have here and the support them have here, but the time, the benefit of time.
"We saw that with Doug being here with Donovan (McNabb). You saw that in Green Bay. You saw that in San Diego with Philip Rivers. You certainly saw that in New England with Tom Brady – the benefit of sitting and watching and observing. These are young guys and the National Football League is a big jump from any level and I think that's one of the things that we also looked at, is that we're not positioned where anybody has to come in and play this year, conceivably next year."
Time To Invest In Quarterbacks
Not only is Philadelphia in a unique opportunity to select a quarterback in the draft because of their No. 2 pick, but they also have incredible knowledge at the position among the coaching staff with Pederson, offensive coordinator Frank Reich and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo.
What better time to invest in quarterbacks?
"What are the keys to being championship caliber over a long period of time? I don't think I'm saying anything that no one in this room doesn't believe – it's quarterbacks," Roseman said. "So for us, we have a unique situation where our head coach, our offensive coordinator, our quarterbacks coach, who we are extremely excited (about), have a great history with quarterbacks. It's a unique luxury in this league to have those guys."
Eagles Needed To Keep A 2016 Third-Round Pick
A key piece to this trade was the Eagles retaining at least one of their 2016 third-round picks, which they successfully did. The team understands that there are still holes to fill on this roster and that can be done through the draft.
"It was important for us to come out of Friday with a player that we thought can help us and when we kept looking over our draft board and having our discussions, we felt like we had a chance to get a player who can come in and contribute to our team," Roseman said. "The strength of this draft matches some of the things that we're looking for, not that we'll draft for need, but it kind of matches up for where we have guys slotted.
"We still have some things we want to do in this draft and it was hard for us to give away every pick on Friday because we saw some opportunities there. When you look at a pick in 2018, you can prepare for that better."
