GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Hours before taking the field for the first full-team practice at the Arizona Cardinals' training camp, new quarterback Sam Bradford spent a small part of the morning fielding questions about how his surgically repaired left knee is holding up.
Bradford seemed prepared to answer the questions, perhaps comforted in knowing he is the starting quarterback as camp begins. His new coach confirmed as much.
"It's his job to lose," Steve Wilks said.
Following an offseason in which he was limited by the Cardinals, the even-keeled Bradford left no doubt that his plan was to go full-bore when training camp started, though he will rest the knee here and there -- possibly on a reps count.
Bradford said he has focused more on learning a new offense than on his knee.
"Definitely the best it's felt since the injury last year," Bradford said. "I've gone through this a couple of times, unfortunately. But I think there's just a point in time where you stop thinking about it and you know that your knee is healthy and you're capable of going out there and doing everything that it needs to be able to do."
The Cardinals seemed to rein in their quarterbacks on Saturday, none of whom threw deep downfield.
Bradford looked sharp in both seven-on-seven and full-team drills, as did rookie first-round pick Josh Rosen, who got intercepted by safety Rudy Ford when he underthrew his receiver on his final throw of seven-on-seven.
It was the No. 10 overall pick's most glaring error of the day, but Rosen appeared to learn from it.
Bradford completed four of five passes in seven-on-seven, going up high to where only tight end Ricky Seals-Jones could catch the ball on his last throw.
In 11-on-11, with Bradford always the No. 1 and Rosen the No. 2 throughout the afternoon, Bradford's only hiccup in his first four passes was a forced timeout. Rosen was 2-of-3.
The second set of 11-on-11 drills saw Bradford complete all three passes, and Rosen put his quick release and big arm on display when it was his turn. Though he took a step or two more than Bradford on dropbacks at times, a completion to tight end Andrew Vollert through two defenders stood out among his seven passes.
Rosen heard the cheers from the fans at University of Phoenix Stadium for his completions. He is competing with veteran Mike Glennon for the backup job, but his coach wants him to think bigger.
"I want Josh with the mentality that he wants to start," Wilks said.
Bradford has also pledged his support of Rosen.
"He's eager to learn; he's always asking questions in the film room, on the field," Bradford said. "He wants to know why defenses are doing certain things, why we do things as an offense, how to attack, how to exploit things. You can just tell that his mind is constantly seeking new information."
There's plenty of training camp left, but at the outset, Wilks wasn't wavering from Bradford as his top guy. Bradford was steady and accurate, but Rosen also looked confident, both under center and in the shotgun.
"Once we really get into the swing of things, particularly, with me it comes down to preseason games and getting guys an opportunity to perform," Wilks said. "We'll see exactly how they really start separating themselves."