The Philadelphia Eagles will enter this offseason in the strange position of most likely having to trade the quarterback who led them to the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl win just one year ago.
Nick Foles, who was the backup quarterback who took over for the injured Carson Wentz during the 2018 season, will likely depart the Eagles this offseason, either as a free agent or via a trade, should the Eagles exercise the franchise tag on him. Now, two ESPN reporters say a possible destination for the Super Bowl LII most valuable player is the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Foles has a $20 million option in his contract for 2019, which the Eagles most likely will pick up so that they have Foles under contract and can trade him. Foles has the option of buying back his free agency for $2 million, although the Eagles would have the option of placing the franchise tag on him, meaning he cannot leave as a free agent.
According to an ESPN NFL Countdown show over the weekend, as transcribed by Jaguars website Big Cat Country , ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen said on television that “the Eagles would like to see is something develop with the Jacksonville Jaguars.” That’s because the Jaguars are likely looking for a quarterback to replace Blake Bortles, while the Eagles would prefer to send Foles to a team that is not in their division or conference. Also, John DeFilippo, who was the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach the year they won the Super Bowl with Foles, was recently hired as Jacksonville’s new offensive coordinator.
Report: Eagles prefer to trade Nick Foles to Jaguars https://t.co/fTTnC6zzIH
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) February 3, 2019
Two of the teams expected to seek a new quarterback this offseason, the New York Giants and Washington Redskins, are in the NFC East, which is also the Eagles’ division. So picking up the option, or possibly using the franchise tag, would help give the Eagles some say in where Foles ends up and keep him away from their rivals.
“The bottom line here is that the Eagles ARE expected to use their franchise tag on him and they ARE expected to try to trade him so they can help dictate where he winds up,” another ESPN NFL reporter, Adam Schefter, said on the same segment.
Carson Wentz, who also finished the 2018 season, is expected to once again emerge as the Eagles’ starting quarterback in 2019. Wentz, on Monday, finally addressed a report from last month which anonymously quoted several teammates as calling him selfish, per Philly.com .