Josh Heupel, who was Sam Bradford's quarterbacks coach at Oklahoma, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he reached out to Bradford to encourage him to continue his career.

Bradford had torn his ACL twice in less than a year.

"I just tried to reach out to him and say: 'Hey, I still see this in you as a person and a player. I think the best is yet to come for you. You've got to get yourself healthy and get yourself back on the field and get yourself in the right environment with the right people and the right supporting cast around you, and there's no doubt in my mind you'll achieve the things you're capable of achieving and want to achieve,'" Heupel, who is now the offensive coordinator at Utah State, told the newspaper in a telephone interview.

 

The Philadelphia Eagles acquired Bradford from the St. Louis Rams in a trade this offseason.

Bradford said in December that he contemplated walking away from the NFL because of the injuries.

"It was really tough that first week after the injury," Bradford said in December. "There was part of me for a couple days that I was done with football. I didn't want to come back, I didn't want to play, I was tired of rehabbing. I was just tired of the process. But when you step back and you are away from the game for a while, then you come back and you're in the building and you're around your teammates, I quickly realized that I wasn't done and that I wanted to come back and that I feel like I've still got a lot to prove."