The Jacksonville Jaguars made their biggest free agent swing in team history last March with the signing of Nick Foles, and it unfortunately, didn’t pay off (at least in 2019). With an expensive contract now on their hands from the veteran and Gardner Minshew II showing enough promise to be the starter instead, many now believe the Jags should look to trade Foles to remove themselves from what could be a mistake.
According to Minshew himself, there will be an open competition between the two quarterbacks, however, if the Jags change their minds and decide to trade Foles, here are four teams that make sense as trade partners:
Indianapolis Colts
While they are the Jags divisional rivals, this is an easy one to point out. The Colts’ head coach, Frank Reich, was Foles’ offensive coordinator during the 2017 season when Philly won the Super Bowl (and in 2016, too).
It’s not exactly a secret that the Colts will be looking to add a quarterback this offseason. Some think it will be Philip Rivers, another quarterback who worked with Reich in the past. Reich was the veteran’s position coach in 2013, then his offensive coordinator from 2014-15. When considering their relationship, he’s clearly going to be an option on the table for the Colts this offseason
My counter to that, however, is that Rivers simply doesn’t have it anymore and isn’t the quarterback he was when Reich was there. At least with the right conditions, Foles has a chance remotely reflect to the Super Bowl MVP the Jags thought they were getting. Additionally, it would require a draft pick from the Jags to get the deal done, much like the Brock Osweiler trade a few years back.
I mean, let’s face it, taking a draft pick from a divisional opponent would have to be appealing for Indy, especially in addition to getting a player who could come right in and pick up the playbook with ease.
As for their available cap space, Indy is second in that category with over $86 million in available money at the moment. That number will decrease in time, but still, they could ingest Foles’ deal with ease this offseason.
Chicago Bears
This is another easy destination to point out for Foles, as former Jags offensive coordinator, John DeFilippo, is now the Chicago Bears’ quarterbacks coach. Before he was fired by the Jags, he was also Foles’ quarterback coach during their Super Bowl win with the Eagles.
The hope was the pairing would work out with the Jags as the team spent the offseason installing the perfect system for Foles, but unfortunately, he was sidelined by a collarbone injury and could never find his footing after returning. Sending him to the Bears, who arguably have better offensive weapons, could maybe give him the post-Philly start he was hoping for with Jacksonville.
The Bears in a lot of ways are similar to the 2018-19 Jaguars. They have an elite defense, but the quarterback play is lacking. In this case, Mitch Trubisky is Blake Bortles, and like the Jags in 2018, the Bears know they need to take advantage of the window before them and can’t continue to waste it on Trubisky. That said, Foles may be enough of an upgrade to give them a team identical to the 2017 Eagles.
Unlike the Colts, however, the Bears only have $5.5 million in available cap space at the moment. Clearly, if they wanted Foles they would have to create some more space, which makes them a less likely destination than Indy.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Andy Dalton era looks like it’s coming to an end, and while the NFL may not want the Cincinnati Bengals to tip their hand, make no mistake about it — they should draft Joe Burrow. If they can, they also need to take the Patrick Mahomes approach and keep him off the field as much as possible in his first year, especially with the talent they have. That makes Foles a good fit for the Bengals in 2020, as he could mentor the rookie while being their temporary starter.
The Bengals currently have $44.8 million in available cap space, so taking on Foles’ contract shouldn’t be hard, as it would be a little cheaper than Dalton’s cap hit. As I previously mentioned, they need to add some talent around the quarterback position, too, so the aspect of adding draft capital should be enticing as well.
Los Angeles Chargers
Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers are going to be parting ways, which means the Chargers might be on the quarterback market if they don’t feel like the draft or backup Tyrod Taylor are the answers in 2020. If that’s the case, Foles could be an option as a stop-gap.
The Chargers have been heavily associated with Tom Brady because it would put him in his home state of California. However, a report surfaced stating that the Las Vegas Raiders may be willing to hit the $30 million range. If that’s truly the case, Foles would be significantly cheaper.
If Anthony Lynn and company are viewing 2020 as a “hot seat” season, they may prefer Taylor or a veteran over a rookie. With them being near the $50 million mark in terms of salary cap, it shouldn’t hurt for general manager Dave Caldwell to give the Chargers a call to see if they’d be interested.
