After the Philadelphia Eagles lost starting quarterback Carson Wentz to a season-ending knee injury in Week 14, most assumed the team’s Super Bowl aspirations for 2017 had completely vanished. Why would anyone think the Eagles could win a championship with their backup quarterback, Nick Foles?
Well not only did Philadelphia capture the franchise’s first ever Super Bowl win on Sunday, but they did it thanks to an explosive passing offense led by Foles. During the Eagles’ 41-33 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, the Philadelphia quarterback was named the game’s MVP after throwing for 373 yards and three touchdowns.
In the Eagles’ three playoff matchups this season, Foles completed 72.6 percent of his passes, tossed a total of six touchdowns, threw just one interception, and averaged almost 325 passing yards per game. Those would be big-time stats even if they were from a starting quarterback.
But a starter is something Foles could be in 2018 after his most recent playoff performance.
Could it be in Philadelphia? That seems unlikely, especially given the recent reports that Wentz should be fully recovered from his knee injury and ready to start by Week 1 next season.
Would Foles be fine just going back to his role as the backup for the Eagles in 2018? While he would likely say that he wouldn’t have a problem with that, Foles is a competitor like everyone else in the NFL and would rather be on the field than back on the bench next season.
But the quarterback may not even be in Philadelphia in 2018 if another team trades for him this offseason.
Foles has a very team-friendly contract that will pay him around $7 million in 2018. Technically, the quarterback has four more years on his current deal, but he will become an unrestricted free-agent in 2019 if he is still on the Eagles’ roster 23 days before the new league year in mid-March.
It’s a bit confusing, but basically Foles has one more season remaining on his current contract.
Given the amount of years left on his current deal, his current salary, and his age (29), Philadelphia can expect to get ton of trade offers for the quarterback this offseason. There are a number of teams in need of a new starting quarterback for 2018 including the Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, and New York Jets.
The Eagles may try to get a first-round draft pick in exchange for Foles, but that would likely be too high of an asking price to send the quarterback packing. At best, Philadelphia could possibly convince a team with multiple 2018 draft picks (like the Browns) to give them a second- or third-round selection in order to complete a trade for Foles.
If the Eagles are actually considering trade offers for the quarterback (which they should be), they should attempt to make a move sooner than later. After winning the Super Bowl MVP on Sunday, Foles’ trade value has never been higher and time will only hinder what Philadelphia can acquire in exchange for the quarterback.
Foles may be fine with returning to the team as a backup next season. But don’t think the Eagles are not going to listen to every offer on the table in the next few months before putting a $7 million signal caller back on the bench.
