With the NFL currently in a rare lull of it’s now seemingly 365 day calendar year, I will recap just a couple of the stories that have either emerged during the week, or will be revelatory to the average NFL fan.

Bradford Blinks – A Tale of the NFL’s Most Half-Hearted (and half-minded) Holdout

It all began on April 21 – only a month and change removed from the Eagles committing over $22 million in guaranteed money to Sam Bradford – when Philadelphia moved heaven and earth to jump up to the 2^nd overall pick in the then-upcoming NFL draft. Correctly assumed to be with intentions of selecting one of the draft’s top-two signal callers, the Eagles made it clear that they were not viewing Sam Bradford as their long-term answer at quarterback. While most adults would see this as a wakeup call and most NFL players would take this as an opportunity to showcase their skills to other teams in the upcoming season, Bradford took his ball and went home. With many speculating a drawn-out and eventual trade-ending holdout, here we are three weeks later and Bradford is reporting to the Eagles' optional offseason workouts with his tail between his legs.

OK, cards on the table, I am not a Bradford fan. I wasn’t a fan of his at Oklahoma, I didn’t like him leading up to the 2010 NFL Draft, I thought it was ludicrous for him to be taken No. 1 overall ahead of Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, Trent Williams, and Eric Berry just to name a few, and his NFL career speaks for itself as to why I wouldn’t be in his corner currently. Having said all of this, one thing that I did believe about him that the scouts had touted so highly was that he had a correctly screwed on noggin in between his shoulders. With his actions over the last month or so, it appears that even that was misjudged about him in his pre-draft scouting reports over a half-decade ago.

Let’s give you the tale of the tape here in Bradford’s “holdout” with the Eagles… Typically in a holdout, a player is refusing to play because they are looking for more money and have out performed their current contract. In Bradford’s case, he not only was just handsomely compensated for the upcoming two seasons, but at no point in his career has he played anywhere near expectations to deserve half of the embarrassment of riches that he has earned over his career – $78 million to be exact, a number that FoxSports.com has begrudgingly pointed out equates to $1 million per touchdown pass in his NFL career. Another reason – albeit far less often – as to why a player would typically hold out is due to a significant, guaranteed, loss in playing time. Again, in Bradford’s case, the Eagles not only have a lot more invested in him in the short term than rookie quarterback Carson Wentz, but the president of the franchise – Howie Roseman – came out and blatantly said on the day of the trade “Let me be clear. Sam Bradford is our starting quarterback… We believe (he) will give us a chance to compete this season.” If Bradford was worried about his playing time, he clearly wasn’t listening to the decision makers who determine that type of thing.

With his adamant intentions to “hold out” considering the circumstances, Bradford displayed a temper-tantrum of the highest athletic degree. One could understand his trade request if he wanted to get on a team that intended on building around him for the future, but to walk away from your job under a freshly inked and incredibly generous contract proves, worst of all, apathy towards the game.

Quickly realizing where he went horribly wrong and the fact that he held absolutely zero leverage in this situation outside of retiring – a scenario in which he would be forced to pay the Eagles back all of the bonuses he just received – Bradford cowered back to optional offseason workouts preaching Derek Jeter-like buzzwords such as “Teammates,” “Preparation” and “Championships.”

Bradford is a fraud, plain and simple. He indirectly threatened retirement and is back on the field just a few weeks later. He claims that he wants to be a franchise quarterback yet isn’t willing to compete for the right to do so. He epitomizes mediocrity at the position, and is the poster child for the reason there is a rookie wage scale in today’s NFL. You can win games with a player of his talent, but a team cannot be led by one of his character. Unfortunately, Philadelphia fans should be looking ahead to the Carson Wentz era instead of the 2016 season.

DeAndre Washington – Oakland’s Late-Round Value Pick

Not to make this a space for me to vent about my NFL pet peeves, but bear with me for just a moment. While Latavius Murray may have made the Pro Bowl last season, so too did ultra-mediocre quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Considering this, people need to stop defending Murray as this top-tier running back based off the fact that he made it into a game that nobody want’s to be a part of anyway -- Rant over.

Having said this, Murray is a solid player, worthy of a lead back gig for sure. However, the Raiders made it no secret headed into this offseason, that high on their priority list was getting Murray a viable complimentary back.

While they may have waited all the way until the fifth round to address this pretty glaring need, eventually the Raiders found their spell back in Texas Tech’s DeAndre Washington.

Largely off the radar, Washington is surprisingly an accomplished college back. During his final season with the Red Raiders, he amassed a Christopher Columbus-like 1,492 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground, while arguably more importantly for his purposes with the Oakland Raiders, he caught 124 passes for 1,091 yards and four touchdowns during his four years of college ball.

At 5-foot-8, 205 lbs., Washington has the build of San Diego’s Branden Oliver and possesses a similar skillset to boot. Both surprisingly athletic per their bowling ball stature, Washington – like Oliver – has incredibly nimble footwork through the hole, and is incapable of going down via arm tackles. He employs professional vision and is a terror in the open field. Below is the best example of their similar styles…

Also similar to that of Oliver, Washington is an experienced receiver who will thrive on third-downs in the NFL. While Murray struggled mightily in the passing game for the Raiders this past season, Washington brings soft hands and can identify a soft spot in the opponent’s defense expertly. He’ll oftentimes find himself open on banana routes and has the will to barrel through defenses on the edge to pick up critical first downs. As a blocker, while short in stature, Washington will serve his quarterback well, as his low center of gravity gives him a firm base to pick up would be pass rushers.

So you may be asking yourself “what is this guy getting at?” and my point is this… Don’t be fooled by the narrative that Murray is some ultra-talented running back worthy of early round draft consideration. Look into the numbers and see what should be obvious. He’s a running back that barely eclipsed 1,000 yards last season in a high-powered offense, struggled down the stretch, and in a league that is going more and more towards passing, he seems to be utterly deficient in that area. Sure he’s a hulking back at 6-foot-3, 230 lbs., but he only scored six rushing touchdowns and while he was rather successful in short yardage situations, the fact that the Raiders didn’t feed him around the goal line more in 2015 should be concerning. Although the average fantasy owner might not have heard about it, the Raiders made it no secret that they needed help in the backfield in 2016. They got it in DeAndre Washington, and he should be considered a deep sleeper pick in the upcoming drafts later this summer.