NFL Trade Rumors: Eagles’ Nick Foles Worth Several NFL Draft Picks, Says Ex-GM Bill Polian

With NFL trade rumors quickly surfacing after the Super Bowl that the Philadelphia Eagles’ Nick Foles will head to a new team, it’s brought up speculation on what he’s worth. At least one former general manager believes he’s worth quite a bit, although many others may disagree. Here’s the latest on what the former GM for the Bills and Panthers thinks that Nick Foles should command in a deal from another team.

As reported by NFL insider Adam Schefter on Monday, former general manager Bill Polian appeared on ESPN’s NFL Live and said he thinks an offer for the Eagles Nick Foles needs to include multiple draft picks. In fact, Polian believes the offer needs to begin with “two 1s” and “two 2s,” indicating it will need picks from the first and second rounds. That’s a high value for a backup quarterback who stepped in late in the season, but Polian feels it’s justified.

As many NFL fans saw, Foles filled in for the Eagles once starting quarterback Carson Wentz went down with an ACL injury in Week 14 against the L.A. Rams. The team went 2-1 with Foles as the starter to close out the regular season, keeping hold of the No. 1 seed in the NFC. From there, Foles helped lead the team to two consecutive home victories despite the oddsmakers putting the Eagles as underdogs against the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings. Foles capped off the season by helping his team defeat Tom Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl LII which brought Philadelphia its first NFL Championship.

Nick Foles = #SBLII MVP! ??? #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/heZhwGFGUL

— NFL (@NFL) February 5, 2018

As NESN‘s Joshua Schrock notes, though, Foles may have looked good in his role for the Eagles in those final games of this championship run, but he hasn’t succeeded on another team yet. Foles was just 4-7 as a starter for the former St. Louis Rams back in 2015. It’s entirely possible the Super Bowl run has boosted his confidence and the momentum will carry him to further success, though.

As far as Bill Polian goes, he began his NFL resume taking over the General Manager role for the Buffalo Bills from 1986 to 1992. The team enjoyed a turnaround during Polian’s years as the GM. They had suffered back-to-back 2-14 seasons prior to Polian’s arrival but reached three consecutive Super Bowls during his tenure. Unfortunately, the Bills lost all three of those championship games and Polian was fired in 1993.

Polian was also able to help bring a Carolina Panthers franchise to the NFC Championship Game in just its second year of existence and he was ultimately hired as President of the Indianapolis Colts in 1998. Between 2000 and 2009, the Colts set a record for most wins in a decade. During that time they also won a Super Bowl in 2006 as part of Polian’s tenure.

The Colts would return to the big game in 2010, only to lose to the New Orleans Saints. Polian was eventually fired after the team went just 2-14 in the 2011 NFL season. Still, his resume includes an induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, so he may know a thing or two about player values and how to bring success to teams.

The value he has placed on Philadelphia Eagles hero Nick Foles is questionable, though. The Eagles’ backup certainly showed he could take over the reigns of a team that was riding high and continued to guide them to that first Lombardi Trophy. That may be worth a few draft picks, but probably not as many as Polian is suggesting. Teams will also be cautious of giving up too much since Foles is going to be getting paid quite a bit in the near future.