After the Philadelphia Eagles traded Nick Foles and draft picks to the St. Louis Rams for Sam Bradford, one might think that gesture alone would solidify his status as the starting quarterback. No doubt the plan is to have Bradford under center for the Birds when the regular season opens on Sept. 14, but as it turns out that's not a foregone conclusion.

In his first public appearance since the draft, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly confirmed last week that there will be an open competition for the job, via the team website. Kelly was also forced to admit that if his club had to play a game right now, Bradford would not be at the helm, as the signal-caller is not yet completely recovered from a torn ACL suffered in August.

It's fair to suggest Kelly's competition is merely lip service, and once Bradford is healthy he'll take his place at the top of the depth chart and never look back. When a team decides to trade for a quarterback and pay him $13 million, per Spotrac, it may seem ridiculous not to name him the starter.

Mark Sanchez, on the other hand, is convinced the competition is real, and that he has a chance to break the huddle for the Eagles on opening day. That's why he signed a new two-year contract with Philadelphia during the offseason, because he believed he could win the job here all along, according to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com, not knowing of Bradford's impending arrival.

“Whether I was surprised or not, I knew there was going to be competition either way,” Sanchez said. “I had a great relationship with Nick so I expected to compete with him, but when that didn’t happen I knew that Sam was going to be another guy in the quarterback room and all of us are competing to play.”

Sanchez appeared in nine games for the Eagles in 2014, starting eight. Armed with more talent than he ever had with the New York Jets and Kelly's prolific offense, Sanchez shattered his personal bests in completion percentage (64.1), yards per attempt (7.8) and passer rating (88.4).

Yet it was not enough. Sanchez still struggled with turnovers, tossing 11 interceptions and losing three fumbles. His arm strength, perhaps still affected by a shoulder injury in 2013, was disappointing to say the least. Sanchez wound up posting a 4-4 record in starts, but the Eagles collapsed down the stretch, losing three of their last four to miss the playoffs.

You might think we've seen enough of Sanchez to know he's not the answer. So then why is there any need for a competition at all? Can Sanchez honestly pose a legitimate threat to Bradford?

Yes and no. Sanchez tells Mosher his arm strength has improved and he's finally over the injury, for what it's worth. This will also be Sanchez's second year in the system, so he's hoping to build off a career year. Frankly, it would not be a surprise at all if Sanchez looked like the better option at training camp and in preseason games this summer.

Let's face it, Bradford is a total mystery at this point. As of last week, he still wasn't a full participant at practice, which is troubling in itself. He is coming off that torn ACL, his second in as many years, so there's concern over how he'll respond to rehab. Between that and playing just seven games over the past two seasons, there's a good chance Bradford isn't very sharp right out of the gate.

Not only that, but Bradford doesn't have the most tremendous track record, either. His record and numbers with the Rams are underwhelming to say the least, so who's to say what the Eagles are even getting?

Of course, Sanchez arrived in Philadelphia from a similar situation of having a poor supporting cast, with an even worse reputation. The belief is a healthy Bradford could find success in Kelly's offense with some actual weapons and a decent offensive line. There's only one way to find out, and that's by getting him on the field.

Ultimately, could Sanchez beat out Bradford for the job? Sanchez couldn't win the job as much as Bradford could lose it. His response to the injury and picking up a new offense are the reasons why the competition is legit.

It's not as if the Eagles weren't prepared for the possibility Sanchez would be under center, either. His contract included playing-time incentives in the event he's the starter. That may not be the best-case scenario, but he'll certainly be gunning for Bradford's spot this summer.