The Sports Xchange

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles are being cautious with their new quarterback, Sam Bradford. The 27-year-old veteran is recovering from his second ACL tear in as many seasons, and though he was on the field for three days of organized team activities (OTAs) this week, he didn’t participate in any seven-on-seven or team drills.

“He’s on schedule,” coach Chip Kelly said. “We all think there’s three phases. There’s medical rehab. There is performance rehab, and then there’s prepared to play. He’s probably right on the tail end of medical rehab.”

Bradford participated in individual throwing drills this week. Kelly said Bradford probably will participate in some seven-on-seven work next week when the Eagles continue OTAs.

Kelly wasn’t prepared to say Bradford would be ready for the start of training camp in late July or the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 14.

“Nothing is safe to say, ever,” the coach said.

In fact, Kelly said Thursday that Bradford will be “competing” for the starting quarterback job with Mark Sanchez, though if Bradford is healthy, it is hard to believe he wouldn’t be the season-opening starter.

“Everybody’s in competition, and the best players will play,” Kelly said.

Bradford said he is pleased with his progress.

“It feels great,” he said. “The staff here has done a great job in the last six to eight weeks. Things really kind of turned a corner. We made a lot of progress. I think as long as we continue to trend in the right direction, I’ll be fine.”

–Eric Rowe, a rookie second-round pick out of Utah, is one of four players battling for the starting cornerback job opposite Byron Maxwell. The other three are Nolan Carroll, Brandon Boykin and free agent signee Walter Thurmond.

Boykin is the Eagles’ nickel corner, and defensive coordinator Bill Davis would prefer to keep him inside. Davis also doesn’t want to rush Rowe, so it is likely Carroll or Thurmond will open the season as the starter, with Rowe being used in sub packages against bigger wideouts and tight ends. It also is possible, but not probable, that Rowe could end up at safety with Malcolm Jenkins.

–The NFL owners voted two weeks ago to move extra-point kicks back to the 15-yard line, but they didn’t approve the Eagles’ proposal that would have moved two-point attempts from the 2-yard line to the 1.

“The numbers will dictate when you go for two, but they didn’t entice you to go for two more (often), at least in my opinion,” Kelly said.

Kelly thinks it would have been an enticement if they had moved two-point attempts up to the 1.

“I don’t understand the proposal,” he said. “If they want you to go for two more, the ball has always been on the 2-yard line. That’s always been an option for everybody for a while. They moved the extra point back, but we were 43-for-45 in the last two years from that distance. That’s 96 percent. I don’t know what changes, to be honest with you.”