ARI QB Sam Bradford - Week 3 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 3 vs. Chicago Bears

Sam Bradford was terrible against the Rams last week, managing only 90 yards and an interception on 27 pass attempts. The Cardinals looked terrible on offense against an elite defense, and after two weeks of embarrassing play, it’s fair to wonder how much longer Bradford will keep his job as the starter. With rookie Josh Rosen waiting to take over, Bradford should be on waivers in all leagues.

Thursday, September 20, 2018 - 6:47pm
ARI QB Sam Bradford - Week 2 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 2 at Los Angeles Rams

Sam Bradford and the Cardinals' passing game looked awful against Washington last week, with Bradford throwing for only 153 yards and a pick. If not for a late touchdown from David Johnson, the Cardinals would’ve been shut out. Bradford is playing on borrowed time, as rookie Josh Rosen is likely to take over at some point. Against a tough Rams defense that forced Derek Carr into three picks on Monday night, Bradford should remain on the waiver wire.

Thursday, September 13, 2018 - 8:17pm
ARI QB Sam Bradford - Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 1 vs. Washington Redskins

Sam Bradford was hurt for most of last season with a pesky knee injury, but the Cardinals decided to gamble on him with a short-term deal. Bradford will be the bridge to rookie Josh Rosen, and with his injury history, it’s hard to put much stock into his permanence as a starter. Regardless of the matchup, fantasy owners should probably leave Bradford on waivers and look elsewhere at the position for now.

Thursday, September 6, 2018 - 10:38pm
ARI QB Sam Bradford - 2018 Fantasy Football Outlook

Fantasy Upside

With the Cardinals trading up to invest the 10th overall pick on Josh Rosen, Bradford is the only thing standing between the rookie and a starting spot. And that could be good news for Rosen—unless Bradford can buck his injury history. If the veteran can do that, he'll benefit from the presence of David Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald. Bradford is an accurate passer capable of moving an offense. He just has to be on the field to do it.

Fantasy Downside

Did we mention that injury history? There was an ankle problem in 2010, a torn ACL in 2013, a re-tear of the ACL in 2014, a shoulder injury in 2015, and then a knee bruise that ultimately needed surgery in 2017. Bradford said his knee feels good, coming out of a season that might have been the most frustrating of his career. He starred in a three-touchdown game in Week 1 to open the 2017 season, but the knee problem basically cost him the rest of the season. He briefly returned as the starter in Week 5 but was unable to finish the game, although he was healthy enough to backup Case Keenum during the Vikings' playoff run. Since missing the entire 2014 season with the torn ACL, Bradford played in 14 games in 2015, 15 games in 2016, and those two games last season.

2018 Bottom Line

Cardinals head strength coach Buddy Morris said he has talked with "everybody that's ever trained" Bradford, as well as Bradford's current physical therapist, in preparation for Bradford's Arizona debut. We'll have to see if it is enough to keep the veteran in the locked and upright position for a 16-game schedule. Beyond that, Bradford must fend off Rosen, who is as pro-ready as any quarterback in this year's draft. We're betting on Rosen to get the nod at some point early on (perhaps even during camp).

Tuesday, July 10, 2018 - 9:30pm
MIN QB Sam Bradford - Week 3 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 3 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Update: Bradford has been ruled OUT for Week 3.

Sam Bradford didn't play last week due to a knee injury. He's been "limited" in practice so far this week and appears on track to play against the Bucs. If he doesn't play, Case Keenum would draw the start, and if that happens, then don't start him.

Even if Bradford does play, he likely won't be a great option. The Bucs were vicious against the Bears in Week 2, and although Minnesota is better, it's still risky to start an injured Bradford against this defense. Bradford played well in Week 1, but he's a less-than-optimal play in Week 3.

Friday, September 22, 2017 - 11:34am
MIN QB Sam Bradford - Week 2 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 2 at Pittsburgh Steelers

Sam Bradford had arguably the best game of his career (it was his highest ever QB rating in a game) in Week 1, throwing for 346 yards, 3 touchdowns, and zero interceptions. It was a much different stat line from Bradford than what we were accustomed to seeing a year ago, as he only had five multi-touchdown games in 2016.

Oddly enough, he started out last year the same way with back-to-back 3-touchdown games before he settled into what he averaged out. So we'll have to see if he continues to be this productive, or if he falls off again.

He'll get a shot to do so this week in a decent matchup against the Steelers. We predict Bradford won't quite put up the numbers he did a week ago, and instead fall back to what he did most of 2016. He's a mid-QB2 play in Week 2.

Friday, September 15, 2017 - 12:57am
MIN QB Sam Bradford - Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 1 vs. New Orleans Saints
When the Vikings traded for Sam Bradford last year, many had low expectations. He proved doubters wrong, and finished with a career-high in passing yards (3,877) and QB rating (99.3). But while he was great in real life for Minnesota, he's not exactly an elite fantasy quarterback. He started the season hot, with back-to-back three-touchdown games, but only had three more multi-touchdown games after that.

As for 2017, Bradford will likely produce similar stats as he did last season, throwing for around 250 yards with a touchdown and limited turnovers. Week 1 could be different as Bradford get a favorable matchup against the Saints. There's a strong possibility he finishes with a multi-touchdown game, which would make him worthy of fantasy consideration.

Bradford isn't the best option, but you do find much worse. He's a middle-of-the-road option for fantasy users this week.

Friday, September 8, 2017 - 11:24am
MIN QB Sam Bradford - 2017 Fantasy Football Outlook

Player Upside

Sam Bradford arrived in Minnesota last season and wound up having a career year. He set a new personal high for passing yards (3,877) as well as passer rating (99.3). He had one of the best TD:INT ratios, throwing for 20 scores and just 5 interceptions. He also set the NFL record for completion percentage (71.6) in a single season.

He’s projected to be the starter again this season as Teddy Bridgewater continues to recover from a devastating leg injury. Bradford hopes to have an improved run game with the arrival of rookie Dalvin Cook, which will take some pressure off of him as a passer.

Player Downside

While Bradford played well for the Vikings, he didn’t always play well for fantasy. The NFL record for completion percentage is nice, but it doesn’t exactly get you fantasy points. Bradford’s 20 scores in 15 starts means he had 10 games with one touchdown or less. He also had seven games under 250 passing yards.

Bradford is a lot like Alex Smith in the sense he’s not going to typically go off for 300+ yards and multiple touchdowns. He’s more of a safe bet to get you one score without turning the ball over.

2017 Bottom Line

Bradford isn’t exactly week-to-week fantasy quarterback material. You might pick him up on waivers if he has a good matchup, or if you need a bye-week filler, but he’s not someone to rely on every week. Expect him to finish outside of the top 20 at his position, depending on injuries.

Monday, July 31, 2017 - 8:49pm
MIN QB Sam Bradford - Week 17, 2016 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 17 vs. Chicago
Sam Bradford shockingly had more than one touchdown in a game last week as he threw three scores and finished with 382 yards. That performance should be taken with a grain of salt, however, as it came against the Packers' poor pass defense.

We expect Bradford to settle back down this week and be his typical one-touchdown self. He doesn't get a great matchup this week, and he's been pretty bad all season, so there's not a lot of reason to like Bradford in Week 17.

Friday, December 30, 2016 - 4:07pm
MIN QB Sam Bradford - Week 16, 2016 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 16 vs. Green Bay
In 13 starts this season, Sam Bradford has 14 touchdowns. While he's finding some success through the air (back-to-back games over 290 yards), he needs to score more often in order to be relevant in fantasy.

He'll get a favorable matchup this week against the Packers, a team he had success against very early in the season. In his first start of the year, Bradford had 286 yards and two scores against Green Bay.

While this is a nice matchup for Bradford, there are so many other options this week that have more promise. He shouldn't be considered in fantasy.

Friday, December 23, 2016 - 11:02am

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