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.