There were speculations that the Jacksonville Jaguars had conversations to trade quarterback Nick Foles, and now thanks to Adam Schefter, we have confirmation on that. With the tampering period kicking off at noon, Schefter revealed that multiple teams have reached to the Jags for the veteran’s services, so it’s a chance he may not be a Jag for long.
Teams have approached Jacksonville about Nick Foles for weeks. To date Jacksonville has been unwilling to trade him. It still feels that way. But never know what happens if another team gets aggressive.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2020
When evaluating Schefter’s statements about the team being reluctant to trade him, fans may be a bit disappointed, however, it could more so be a case of the Jags waiting out the process and upping a potential return.
The Jags brought in Foles for the most expensive free-agent contract in team history (a four-year deal worth $88 million) last spring and he didn’t quite pan out. After sustaining a broken collarbone Week 1of the regular season against the Kansas City Chiefs, rookie Gardner Minshew II stepped in for him until Week 11 against the Indianapolis Colts. Upon his return, he could never find a groove and Minshew was renamed the starter Week 14 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
With the team heading towards a clear rebuild, getting Foles off their books for the future would be huge for their salary cap. For this season, they could also designate a post-June trade which would give them dead cap hits of $6.25 million and $12.5 million throughout 2020 and 2021, respectively. Per Over the Cap, that would allow them to get a relief amount of over $15.5 million in 2020.
The teams to watch out for when it comes to Foles’ services without a question are the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts. The Bears have two of his former coaches in Matt Nagy and John DeFilippo, while the Colts have his former offensive coordinator from the Philadelphia Eagles, Frank Reich.