On Sunday afternoon, it was reported that the Eagles were discussing a possible reunion with quarterback Nick Foles. However, according to one Eagles beat writer, that is simply not the case. The Eagles have not had internal talks about pursuing Foles, who is now a member of the Rams, according to Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The buzz about a Foles return began less than 24 hours ago when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that new head coach Doug Pederson was interested in making that a reality. Schefter also heard that the Eagles will not use the franchise tag on Sam Bradford if the two sides cannot reach an agreement on a new contract. Berman hears that no decision has been made with regards to using the tag on Bradford. If the Eagles do use the tag on him, they’ll be on the hook for roughly $20MM in 2016.
Bradford, who came to the Eagles in the trade that sent Foles to the Rams, struggled out of the gate in his first season in Philly, though he did play much better in the second half of the year as he grew more comfortable in Chip Kelly‘s offense. Kelly, in his capacity as head coach/personnel executive, was responsible for bringing Bradford to the Eagles, but Kelly was fired before the end of the season. Pederson has taken his place on the sidelines and displaced VP of football operations Howie Roseman regained his authority over personnel matters and it would make sense that both men would want to hand-pick their own QB. However, things still appear to be fluid with regards to Bradford.
Pederson was on Philadelphia’s staff when the team drafted Foles in the third round of the 2012 season, and he served as Foles’ quarterbacks coach that year. Roseman, of course, was in charge of the front office during that period. Foles, for his part, was an abject failure in his first season with the Rams, completing just 56.4% of his passes and throwing seven touchdowns against ten interceptions in 11 games. He did, however, sign a two-year extension with the club prior to the beginning of the 2015 campaign, so he remains under contract through the 2017 season.
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