NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JANUARY 13: Nick Foles #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts after the NFC Divisional Playoff against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 13, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
The Eagles exercised Nick Foles option for the 2019 season, but that’s far from a sure thing he’ll be with the team next season as the trade market heats up.
At first glance, the news that the Eagles intend to exercise Nick Foles’ 2019 option might lead you to think the team’s front office really wants to keep him. The opposite is actually true. The team’s decision to pick the option up makes it abundantly clear they are ready to trade the former Super Bowl MVP.
Most NFL executives expect Foles to move quickly to buy his way out of the option for the hefty sum of $2 million. That doesn’t mean he’s going to enjoy unrestricted free agency. Instead, you can safely assume the Eagles will franchise Foles and move to trade him during the offseason.
Some Eagles fans might be holding out hope that their favorite team and Foles can still come to a long-term contract extension, but the odds of that are practically zero. The team cannot afford to pay big money to Carson Wentz and Foles at the same time if they want to build a roster deep enough to win another Super Bowl. Fundamentally, Philadelphia needs to make a choice on which quarterback they’ll ride moving forward.
Wentz has the advantage of youth and a higher ceiling on his side. His inability to stay healthy for a full season is a major concern for the Eagles front office, but if they can figure out how to keep him on the field he could become an MVP one day. Foles doesn’t have that kind of ceiling.
That doesn’t mean he won’t draw a lot of interest on the trade market though. The 30-year-old has shown everyone he has what it takes to be a quality NFL starter. Any team that enters the offseason with uncertainty about whether they have a franchise quarterback to rely on should at least kick the tires on what would be required to acquire Foles. He may not be an MVP level talent, but he can be an above average quarterback in the right system.
The interesting question for the Eagles is how much they can realistically hope to recoup in a trade for Foles. The contract the signal caller’s next team will be required to give him will depress his market somewhat, but Philadelphia should still be in a position to garner a terrific asset. A high draft pick or a talented young player should be the very minimum Eagles fans should expect to see coming their way.
The quarterback tandem of Foles and Wentz has been unconventional, but it’s worked well in Philadelphia. The team’s decision to exercise Foles’ 2019 contract option means that era is now over. It’s time to watch the trade offers roll in for Foles.