There’s a good chance the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles decide to hang on to reigning Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles as an insurance policy in case Carson Wentz isn’t ready for the 2018 season.
At the very least, that’s what the Eagles would like us to believe.
Though, there’s two issues with this. Coming off one of the best playoff runs by a quarterback in recent NFL history, Foles would likely bring a nice return in a trade. Secondly, it’s not a given that he’d be okay coming back to Philadelphia as a backup.
If the Eagles were to trade Foles, MMQB’s Peter King is reporting that it would take a minimum of two first-round picks for them to even consider it.
“I don’t think Philly trades quarterback Nick Foles, unless some team makes an offer that start with two first-round picks. Even then, I’m skeptical they’d pull the trigger. This is why they got Foles in the first place—because GM Howie Roseman and Pederson think the backup quarterback is one of the 10 or 12 most important players on the team,” King reports.
If that’s the case, Foles will be a member of the Eagles next season. No team is going to move a minimum of two first-round picks for a signal caller that was nothing more than an afterthought prior to Wentz’s ACL injury.
Then again, this could the Eagles’ way of putting it out there that they’re not going to give up Foles on the cheap. The fact that it’s not a guarantee Wentz returns for Week 1 of the 2018 season magnifies this even further.
With more than a half dozen teams in need for a new starting quarterback, there’s going to be interest in Foles’ services. Whether a trade comes to fruition will depend heavily on how his market plays out.
Foles has one year left on his contract with a $7.6 million cap hit for the 2018 campaign. This makes him an even more attractive possibility for quarterback-needy teams.