What’s Next For The Legend Of Nick Foles? | Josh Golden

What’s Next For The Legend Of Nick Foles?

by: Josh Golden

On December 10, 2017, in a beautiful week 14 game in Los Angeles, Eagles quarterback and MVP favorite Carson wentz went down with a scary injury that we later found out was a torn ACL. At that moment, the legend of Nick Foles began. Foles stepped up to win the game and the next two games after that to propel the Eagles to the number one seed in the playoffs. Once the playoffs began, Foles picked up three more wins, leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl upset over Tom Brady’s Patriots for the first title in franchise history.

This season, after a 6-7 start, Carson Wentz was once again ruled out for the season, and again, Foles stepped in, winning the last three games of the season to sneak the Eagles into the playoffs. The Eagles picked up a big playoff win in Chicago, but had their hopes of another miracle slip through Alshon Jeffery’s fingertips yesterday in New Orleans. Now, the Eagles enter the offseason about $13 million over the cap and have a backup quarterback with a $20 million cap hit. With his revised contract from this offseason, Foles and the Eagles could mutually opt out of his contract this offseason, so Foles will either be traded or become a free agent, but where will he end up in 2019?

Although Foles is undoubtedly a legend in Philadelphia and should get a starting opportunity in 2019, his market is hard to predict due to other quarterbacks expected to hit the open market. Due to the emergence of rookie Lamar Jackson in Baltimore, another former Super Bowl MVP, Joe Flacco, is expected to be available via trade. Additionally, Teddy Bridgewater is a free agent, and Blake Bortles, Ryan Tannehill, Case Keenum, and Andy Dalton all could hit the open market, so there’s multiple options in free agency. However, many believe Foles is in a class above the other options and will have plenty of landing spots, so where can he go?

To me, the wild card team in the quarterback market this year is the New York Giants. The team is in obvious need of a quarterback, but would likely look to the draft to develop a quarterback behind Eli Manning for a year. If Eli chooses to retire, the team could still look to the draft to fill the need, but Foles would immediately become a great fit for the Giants, a team that gets to play the Eagles twice a year. If Foles leaves the division, one of his top options would likely be to go to mile high and get wins for John Elway’s Broncos. Case Keenum had a rough first year with Denver and Elway should look to move on from him for Foles.

Should the Broncos choose to keep Keenum or look to someone other than Foles at quarterback, Foles will likely end up playing in Florida. All three Florida teams (Miami, Tampa Bay, and Jacksonville) could potentially have a new starter come this season, with Tannehill having a potential out in his contract, both Winston and Fitzpatrick being financially expendable, and the Jaguars reportedly ready to move on from Bortles. Of these three teams, Jacksonville would likely be the best option for Foles due to their recent success, making the AFC Championship game in 2017. If the Jags add Foles and can keep Leonard Fournette healthy, perhaps they could return to winning form and get past Tom Brady.

Should the Eagles and Nick Foles part ways after a memorable second stint, Foles will have plenty of options to become a franchise quarterback and bring some playoff magic to a new city.