Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles are likely no more after general manager Howie Roseman confirmed to the media at the NFL Combine that the team will not use the franchise tag on him.
Roseman said that Foles “deserves an opportunity to lead a team” and we’ll get to see what type of market the Super Bowl MVP has now that interested franchises won’t have to make a trade with the Eagles to acquire him.
Here are the seven best destinations for Foles in free agency
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars are the obvious choice, with a definite need for an upgrade over Blake Bortles at the position, and John DeFilippo being hired to be the teams’ offensive coordinator for Doug Marrone.
Miami
Similar to other scenario’s around the league, Ryan Tannehill is still on the Dolphins roster, but he’s not better than Foles. Add into that the Dolphins hiring the same guy that watched Foles win MVP over his defense one year ago, and you can understand why the Phins might go ‘Philly Philly.”
Washington
With Alex Smith expected to miss the 2019 season, Foles could be a stop-gap solution or the Redskins quarterback of the future. Adding to the fact that Foles is completely familiar with the NFC East, and you have the recipe for the Redskins returning to the playoffs.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Yes, Bruce Arians and company have said all the right things about Jameis Winston, but that was before Foles hit the open market. Winston isn’t the surest of bets under center, and with a plethora of weapons including Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson, the Buccaneers could definitely be a destination.
Oakland
Jon Gruden and GM Mike Mayock have raved about Carr being a franchise quarterback, but that doesn’t mean he’s better than Foles, or the Raiders signal caller of the future. Gruden and the Raiders have a bevy of picks and a need to get better in a hurry, a move that could require the big game expertise of Foles of Carr.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals hired Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor to replace the fired Marvin Lewis, and the former Rams offensive coordinator may want to bring in his own guy. The fact that Taylor can get Foles on the open market while being able to cut or trade Andy Dalton at no cost makes the move one to watch. Take in the account that his brother Press has extensive knowledge of Foles from being the Eagles quarterbacks coach, and you can see the obvious playing out.
Retirement
Foles wants to be the starter on his own team, but with a tough free agent market for starting quarterbacks and a draft with two potential top-10 picks, the former Super Bowl MVP could choose to walk away on his own terms rather than return to Philadelphia as a backup, or sign up for a dysfunctional situation with another organization.
