NFL Notes: Kickoffs, Eagles, Sam Bradford & Jets

Kickoffs

• Mike Florio, who filled in for Peter King at TheMMQB.com, thinks the NFL would already have gotten rid of the kickoff if they had a suitable option to replace it and a way for teams to steal a possession like they can with the onside kick.
• Florio points out that Roger Goodell previously floated the idea of giving the kicking team the ball at its own 30, facing fourth down and 15. The “kicking” team could then punt the ball, go for it from a normal offensive set, or run a fake punt.

Eagles

• Eliot Shorr-Parks, citing a source familiar with the situation, reports that Eagles owner Jeffery Lurie was the driving force behind the team’s decision to re-sign veteran QB Sam Bradford.
• According to Shorr-Parks, Lurie wanted to bring Bradford back to remain competitive in 2016, instead of starting a full rebuild.
• Shorr-Parks’ source confirmed that the Eagles did make Bradford available for trade last year in order to try to move up for Marcus Mariota.

Jets

• Mike Florio believes the Jets have sent a clear message to agents around the league regarding how they’ll handle negotiations going forward after they waited until the week of the franchise deadline to get a long-term deal hammered out with DL Muhammad Wilkerson.
• With this in mind, Florio points out that the night before training camp could be the deadline to watch for free agent QB Ryan Fitzpatrick.