OU's QB Sam Bradford plans to enter NFL
OU QUARTERBACK ANNOUNCES INTENTION TO HAVE SHOULDER Surgery, JOIN DRAFT
BY DAVID UBBEN
Comments 
6
Published: October 26, 2009
NORMAN — Sam Bradford returned from a Heisman Trophy-winning season to spend another fall in the Oklahoma Sooner uniform he’d dreamed of wearing his entire life.
But seven games into the season, his Sooner career likely is over.
On Sunday he announced plans to undergo surgery on his throwing shoulder and enter the NFL Draft on April 22.
"I came back to play, not sit on the bench,” Bradford said in a news release from the school.
"That’s the reason I tried to play after the injury. I’m very disappointed that it didn’t work out differently.”
Renowned surgeon
Dr. James Andrews is scheduled to perform the surgery on Wednesday in
Birmingham, Ala.
"We want Sam to pursue the best option for his recovery and future,” coach
Bob Stoops said in the release.
"We obviously feel this is best for his long-range future. Sam has led us to two
Big 12 championships and an appearance in the national title game. ... We appreciate the incredible contributions he has made to this program and university.”
The school’s release said Bradford will enter the draft only if the recovery goes as anticipated.
Rehabilitation time for the injury is four to six months.
"I’ll be up to the challenge,” Bradford said.
His rehabilitation could keep him out of the NFL Draft Combine, which begins on Feb. 28, but he could travel to
Indianapolis and submit to interviews with
NFL teams as well as physical and mental evaluations.
If he’s unable to perform drills, he could be the main attraction at a Pro Day in Norman in the weeks following the combine.
Bradford, a junior from Putnam City North, sprained the AC joint in his throwing shoulder in the Sooners’ season-opening loss against
Brigham Young, and returned to action five weeks later against Baylor.
He threw for 389 yards in his return, but aggravated the injury on the first play of Oklahoma’s second offensive series against
Texas when he was sacked by Longhorns cornerback
Aaron Williams.
Landry Jones has played during Bradford’s absence.
The redshirt freshman from Artesia,
N.M., has started four games and has thrown for 1,363 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions through seven games, completing 60.9 percent of his passes.
The Sooners, 4-3, have regular season games remaining with
Kansas State,
Nebraska,
Texas A&M,
Texas Tech and
Oklahoma State.
Leave a Comment
News Photo Galleriesview all
Prev
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Log in below or sign up (it's free).
And as for Landry Jones, I wish him well as our new QB. But I am very leery of our O-line and if nothing is done to fix our O-line, then Landry will be the next one hurt. If Stoops would stop trying to recruit "blue chip" players and go after the ones that have fire in their belly to prove themselves, we'd have a good O-line on the team. I am of the opinion that these "blue chip" players feel that their position on the team was due them and given to them on a silver platter without actually having to work and prove themselves worthy of the positions on the team they're on. My faith in the O-line will be restored if they start performing like they are supposed to and be very successful in protecting their quarterback!