The Eagles’ loss to the Saints in the divisional round started a countdown clock to what appears to be an inevitable divorce between the team and Nick Foles. The team still views Carson Wentz as its quarterback of the future, which means Foles will very likely be suiting up somewhere other than Philadelphia next season. Foles can pay a $2MM fee to essentially buy his free agency, but the team could then still franchise tag him and attempt to trade him. Whether it’s through free agency or in a trade, today we’ll be taking a look at his most likely destinations:
The Jaguars are widely seen as being a competent quarterback away from being a contender, and might be the most likely team to pursue a veteran quarterback this offseason. The team made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game last year, but regressed heavily in 2018 and finished the season 5-11. Jacksonville is looking to make the most out of the window that it has with their elite defense, and is a natural contender for Foles.
The team appears set to move on from Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler, and could have an entirely new quarterback room in 2019. If Foles were to be traded the Eagles would likely see the Jaguars as an appealing option, as they’re in a different conference and won’t play each other for another four years. On the other hand, the Jags’ cap situation isn’t the best, and they’d need to shed some salary to be able to offer what Foles is likely to be seeking. The Jaguars have the seventh overall pick in this year’s draft, and could use that to select a quarterback like Dwayne Haskins instead of pursuing a veteran.
Another AFC team that could be interested is the Dolphins. The team isn’t going to be bringing back Ryan Tannehill, and Foles could be a nice option as a bridge quarterback. Tannehill hasn’t been able to stay healthy the past few seasons, and this year wasn’t any exception as he missed five games with a shoulder injury. The team is looking to get younger, and they might want a capable veteran signal caller to help them transition.
With Tannehill’s salary off the books they’ll have plenty of money to offer him a deal, and Miami doesn’t have many other options for a starter next year. On the other hand, the Dolphins have signaled that they plan on going all in on tanking 2019, so they might not be interested in winning too many games with Foles. If the plan is to lose as many games as possible, it wouldn’t make much sense for them to give up draft assets for Foles if the Eagles do end up tagging him.
The Broncos already have a Foles-esque placeholder in Case Keenum, but there’s been some chatter that they might want to move on from Keenum this offseason. Denver could get out of Keenum’s contract fairly easily, and he has no ties to the new coaching staff led by Vic Fangio. If Fangio and his new offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello decide they don’t love Keenum, they could ask Broncos GM John Elway to look elsewhere.
Elway has aggressively pursued veteran quarterbacks in free agency in the past, most notably Peyton Manning a handful of years ago and Keenum last offseason, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s interested in Foles. Denver doesn’t appear to be rebuilding and thinks it has the pieces to win with the right quarterback, and Foles could be what they’re looking for.
A slightly more out of the box possibility is the Redskins. The Eagles would surely prefer he didn’t go to their division rival, but if they don’t tag him they might not have any say. It was reported earlier today that Washington was expecting Alex Smith to miss the entire 2019 season, so the Redskins will very likely be in the market for a quarterback.
The Redskins know him well, and Foles beat them easily in Week 17 this year. While the Eagles might do all they can to prevent it, this would certainly be the most entertaining scenario of all. Foles playing Wentz twice a year would be great, and it would be surprising if the Redskins don’t at least look into it.
So, what do you think? Where will Foles end up next season as he looks to continue his magic? Vote in PFR’s latest poll (link for app users) and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section!
Why even do these if you never include the link for the poll?
The simple answer is that keeping count of the complaints allows them to gauge how many are using the mobile app.
That’s actually smart, didn’t think of that lol.
The link is embedded right above the poll, sorry if it wasn’t too visible.
Foles has a better chance to end up on the Nationals than the Redskins.
Why? Philly would have no problem dealing him to Washington, they dealt McNabb to the Foreskins…
“The Jaguars are widely seen as being a competent quarterback away from being a contender…” Couldn’t that be said about 90% of non playoff teams? Just because a team has a ‘highly drafted 1st round QB’ doesn’t mean he is or will be good.
They were in the afc game last year albeit they had a solid defense
You’re right. Their one and only division title this century. 1999 was their last one. Why; bad QB’s.
The Giants have been waiting a long long time to extract some payback from the Eagles for those Meadowland Miracles. Gettleman has made no commitment to Eli Manning for a good reason. Foles will be the payback.
Foles has never started a full season. Fools (maybe Foles?) gold waiting to happen to a team for a mere $20M+ for the next 3 years. He had a great post season last year. That doesn’t make him a superstar QB.
If he was a superstar QB he wouldn’t be going anywhere. Wentz would be the one looking for a new team.
Exactly right! Which is why he’s not worth $20m.
The market forces of supply and demand can either exaggerate or restrict a players value. He may not be worth 20MM but a few years ago the Bears coughed up 18MM for backup Mike Glennon and received one win for their investment. Foles will probably help his new team more than that.
You continue to support my point. I wouldn’t pay $18m for 1 win. He couldn’t beat out average QB’s in Tampa; so what made hime QB1 material? I’d rather they drafted 3 QB’s in Chicago, knowing theres a 99% chance none will pan out, rather than pay him starter’s money.
Yup, any QB that ever was a backup should be compared to Mike Glennon and not any of them that stepped up and succeeded.
I’m sure owners would be quite content to pay players nothing but the result would be empty stadiums everywhere. The economics of the sport really don’t have to make any logical sense. In that respect it’s like the military where taxpayers can end up having to pay $200,000 for a hammer.
Exactly wrong! With Wentz being younger with a much higher ceiling and having given up so much to get him it only makes sense to keep Wentz. That does not mean Foles is no good just that a salary cap strapped team has to choose Wentz.
I NEVER said Foles was bad! I said for a guy that hasn’t started 16 games in 1 season, I wouldn’t cough up huge dough or a high pick for him. A 30 year old career backup is not going to become good to great starter. There’s a reason he’s a career B/U.
You don’t have to offer up dough and picks, the experts that get paid to do just that will. They know a little bit more about Foles’ value than you, and he does carry a decent price tag because in the right situation he will do well for years (since 30 isn’t all that old).
He’s passed for a bit more than 11,000 yards in 7 years. going with a 68-33 Td/INT ratio. Roughly 1,500 yards a season w/ 9 TD’s and 4-5 INT’s per. Really not that hard to check his stats on pro football reference. But go on, and pay $20m for those overwhelming numbers.
He’s a backup. That doesn’t mean he didn’t win the SB or have a great post season last year, & It doesn’t mean I dislike the guy. But there’s not a chance, starting a full 16 games, he’ll be over 500. That’s statically easy to prove.
By the time Steve Young turned 30 he was also a backup and had half those yards and TDs and more INTs, also really not hard to check his stats on pro football reference.
Not saying he’s another Steve Young, but it’s asinine to assume he’s another Glennon. Sometimes the situations don’t work out for guys until the right opportunity arises. Young in TB or as a backup in SF was not the same guy and didn’t prevent him from proving what he had as a starter.
Trade Wentz, keep Foles
What if they tag him and he doesn’t sign his tender? That’s a disaster waiting to happen. They have a cap hold, are over the cap and can’t sign anyone. I doubt it will happen as Philadelphia has been very nice to Foles by paying him a bonus he didn’t actually qualify for but you never know……,,
Wherever he ends up I hope he succeeds. Definitely one of the cooler stories in recent NFL history.
Earth?
Trade Wentz, keep Foles
Curious what Foles worth is in draft picks? 3rd rounder?
They’d get that as compensation if he leaves as a free agent, so any deal would have to obviously top that. The market last year was a 1st rounder, but they kept him as the insurance policy he ended up being, so a late 1st or early 2nd would probably do it.
Files to the Broncos. Elway and staff has the money and looking for that franchise qb. Foles has a great shot here in the mile high city.
Jags
I recently saw a trade proposal in a mock draft on CBS Sports, Foles for Fournette with some picks changing hands.
I think it makes sense for both teams.
Foles gets to work with DeFillipo again,
as he is Jax new OC.
Foles isn’t that good
Foles in DC is interesting. If he is tagged and Redskins trade up to get Murray in the draft, then it’s more unlikely. If he enters free agency, yes, Redskins should sign him for two year deal (they might still trade up for Murray and put him under Foles – The Redskins are feeling the exposure of having no one in their QB coral that they will likely keep, except of course Smith, who is very unlikely to play in 2019