Chip Kelly's biggest summer decision for Eagles: Bradford or Sanchez?

PHILADELPHIA – When the last Philadelphia Eagles minicamp practice of the offseason ended Thursday and a line of media members curled toward quarterback Sam Bradford, he looked as nimble as anytime on this rainy afternoon.

Jogging through cameras and notepads without breaking stride, he trotted through double glass doors and left the final pressing June questions hanging in the air.

What's next for you this offseason? When you come back, are you competing for the starting job?

Caught in Bradford's wake, training camp rival in-waiting Mark Sanchez slid in from behind and answered both.

1. What now? More work and more film.

2. Ready to fight for the starting job? "Absolutely. 100 percent."

That second answer – the fight – is the main event for these Eagles over the next 10 weeks. Yes, the defense has been retooled, the offensive line is in flux and there is a dizzying combination of running backs. But in terms of pointing the franchise compass, those are all sub-coordinates.

First things first: No. 7 vs. No. 3, Sam versus Mark. No decision made by coach Chip Kelly will be more important before the regular-season opener. And it doesn't look like the answer is a foregone conclusion anymore.

"The best players are always going to play," Kelly said. "That's always been the way it has to be. … One more time, my theory is the best players always play. It's not fair to the rest of the guys on the team if the best players aren't playing. It's not fair to this city, it's not fair to the staff and it's not fair to anybody if the best players aren't playing."

[ThePostGame: Herschel Walker: I could still play in NFL]

That's a favorite ideological Kellyism. "The best players play." And if he wins big, with Bradford or Sanchez or whoever, we'll mimic those words fondly, like "How 'bout them Cowboys" or "We're on to Cincinnati." It'll be Chip doing it Chip's way.

But lose big, make the wrong choice at quarterback and stumble in 2015, and those words will transition nicely into a sarcastic turn of phrase. Something like "Eagles 2015: Where the best players played (in Buffalo and St. Louis and Kansas City)."

There's nothing to suggest it will go that badly, of course. Not yet. The summer minicamps are little more than flag football and all-day sessions of study hall. So we're left looking for a target to focus our lasers on, and this offseason it has been Bradford. And more recently, Bradford vs. Sanchez.

But before you can get into that, it's worth going over the Bradford dossier since his particulars are what will determine the pace of any perceived quarterback battle. With that in mind …

• Bradford's cost: The red meat of the Bradford trade involved the Eagles surrendering Nick Foles and a 2016 second-round pick. Viewed through the prism of NFL history, that fact alone says that the starting job is Bradford's to lose. Not to mention the fact that the Eagles have sought to extend Bradford's deal. No matter how slow his progression has gone this offseason, when training camp starts he will go first through the turnstile. And Sanchez will follow behind.

• Bradford's fit: We don't know because he hasn't been at full health and hasn't been running 11-on-11 in the offseason. We do, however, know that Bradford is no more of an odd fit for Kelly's offense than Sanchez was one year ago. Whether he's an ideal fit is irrelevant because both Bradford and Sanchez would have to be fused with the scheme in their own unique way. And we all know now that Marcus Mariota was never walking through that door. So let's move on already.

• Bradford's health: Only Bradford and the team doctors know exactly how healthy the QB's left knee is. But his dialed back involvement into June suggests there is still progress to be made. That said, he didn't look that far behind on the last day of minicamp, and he has six more weeks to get right. Bradford said it himself earlier in the week. Only something "horribly wrong" would keep him from being full-go at the beginning of August. And if that happens, everything can change.

• Bradford's contract: There's a six-week gap to make an extension happen before training camp, and the Eagles have made overtures. But the contract figures aren't even in shouting distance due to the volcanic escalation in quarterback contract figures, a league source said. Barring another injury, Bradford and his camp are expecting to get paid big. Yet again. The franchise tag for his position will be at $20 million plus in 2016. And with Bradford turning 28 in November, he theoretically has 5-7 prime years left (again, health permitting). Combine his age, skills and the overall thirst for even midlevel starting quarterback talent, Bradford could easily shape up as the top free agent in 2016 (one last time – health permitting).

Knowing all of that, can Sanchez really expect to compete for the starting job? If you're taking Kelly at his word, yes. And maybe in the long run of 2015, that's legitimate. But all the economic factors (not to mention the pure talent shown over their careers) points to Bradford getting every opportunity to fail before Sanchez is a realistic concern.

To Sanchez's credit, he looked sharper than Bradford on Thursday. His timing and accuracy seemed better. He made better decisions. All of which is likely a reflection of an eight-game edge in Kelly's scheme, along with two offseasons of repetitions. But one day in minicamp means nothing when August arrives.

The bottom line will be August. And if Sanchez is producing in preseason games, Kelly's own "best players play" mantra is going to light up like neon. You can bet Sanchez will make sure of it.

As he said Thursday, "You've got to be the best guy. The best guy plays."

What does that mean?

"That means move the team down the field and get points," Sanchez said. "Get completions. Do the right thing in the right situations. Throw the ball away when you have to. Take care of the football. All those things that go along with being the starter.

"I've done it before. I know I can do it again."

Those are words meant for the head coach, from a backup basically screaming that he is ready to take on Bradford. The winner will be the most important decision of Chip Kelly's tenure in Philadelphia to this point.

Only time will tell if Sanchez was ever truly in the fight in the first place.