ESPN.com is reporting that Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford will likely have season-ending shoulder surgery.

Bradford, who won the Heisman Trophy last season, will address his future plans in a news conference at 6:30 ET Wednesday.

Bradford re-injured his right shoulder on Oklahoma’s second possession during a 16-13 loss to No. 3 Texas on Saturday. The quarterback had previously been out a month with a sprain of the AC joint in his right, throwing shoulder.

Bradford had been ruled out of Oklahoma’s game this week at Kansas (No. 25 BCS, No. 24 AP), but coach Bob Stoops said Tuesday any decision beyond that is yet to come.

Bradford had been projected as an early NFL draft pick, but decided instead to return for his junior season with the Sooners. He was injured just before halftime against BYU and missed Oklahoma’s next three games before returning to throw for 389 yards against Baylor.
He was hurt again when Texas cornerback Aaron Williams sacked him in the first quarter Saturday.

The debate over the next couple months will be whether or not Bradford will enter the NFL draft. He’s not expected to announce that decision at his press conference today, but he’ll certainly be probed about it now that his season looks to be over.

It’s always tough for a player to decide whether or not he wants to enter the NFL draft, but there’s an added element to Bradford’s decision because of his injury. Seeing as how this season didn’t go as planned, he might be inclined to return next year and try to lead Oklahoma back to the national title game. That said, if he returns to school next year, he risks getting hurt again and forgoing millions of dollars in the pros.

I don’t envy his decision.

When probed about the pending return of his Heisman-winner quarterback, Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops said he wouldn’t discuss the subject.

From Tulsa World.com:

During his press luncheon on Tuesday, Stoops was asked about Bradford’s progress coming back from a separated shoulder, and Stoops quickly replied, “I’m not even going to go there,” fearing that discussing Bradford’s rehab schedule would only fuel speculation.

Instead, it was Stoops’ comments that fueled speculation on talk radio and message boards Wednesday — speculation that either Bradford is progressing faster than anticipated and may play against Tulsa, or that Bradford’s injury is worse than first feared and he may be out longer than the original prognosis of 2-4 weeks.

After practice Wednesday, Stoops told reporters that Bradford won’t play against TU, but declined to discuss specifics of Bradford’s rehab or return schedule.

Hopefully Bradford won’t be rushed back onto the field. As much as Oklahoma needs him (as well as college football fans looking forward to another tight race in the Big 12), Bradford has bright future ahead of him and can’t risk further injury.

He should return when he’s at or near complete health.

Teams in need of a quarterback this offseason might not want to pass on what’s available on the free agent market because the QB class at the NFL scouting combine had a rough weekend.

Georgia’s Matthew Stafford might have been on to something when he didn’t workout this weekend at the combine, because his quarterback brethren didn’t fair too well according to the NFL Network’s Mike Mayock and Paul Burmeister. In fact, the quarterback who impressed the most during drills was West Virginia’s Pat White, who might not even project as a QB in the NFL. White apparently showed the best arm strength of any QB on out routes and also looked very comfortable on a whole.

Scouts said that Mark Sanchez’s (USC) throws were strong and powerful, although his release looked elongated. I had the chance to watch the combine on the NFL Network and I would say his accuracy wasn’t up to snuff, either (or at least not for a quarterback prospect expected to be selected in the first round).

Among the quarterback prospects that really struggled were Alabama’s John Parker Wilson, Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell and Kansas State’s Josh Freeman. Wilson and Harrell were going to be late round projects no matter how they fared at the combine, but Freeman was supposed to have the best physical tools of any QB in the draft. Apparently his first round projection in some mocks was way off.

Stafford’s gamble to not workout might have paid off. Sanchez was the only guy that could have unseated Stafford as the top quarterback prospect and while he was okay in drills, he was far from spectacular.

Teams might be better off waiting for Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Texas’s Colt McCoy to come out next year because outside of Stafford and maybe Sanchez, most of the quarterbacks in this year’s class are developmental projects at best.