The Blake Bortles era is finally over in Jacksonville. The Jaguars are paying Nick Foles a fortune to be their quarterback of the present and future.
The Jaguars are hoping that Nick Foles can bring some of his Super Bowl magic to Jacksonville. The team is certainly making a large financial bet on the former Eagles signal-caller.
Foles made his name in Philadelphia by guiding his team to a Super Bowl title two seasons ago. Putting a Super Bowl MVP on his resume certainly didn’t hurt his market value either. The Eagles liked having Foles as insurance behind starter Carson Wentz, but that ultimately became financially impossible for the franchise.
Contract Details
Per Mike Garofolo of NFL Network, the Jaguars are giving Foles a four-year contract that could pay him as much as $102 million. The more likely cap hit is going to be $88 million, but that still makes Foles the 11th highest paid quarterback in football.
National Reaction
It’s safe to say that media members who expected Foles market to be a little tepid have been proven wrong.
$50 million-plus in guaranteed money isn’t bad for a guy who couldn’t beat out Wentz for a starting position in Philadelphia.
Signing with the Jaguars isn’t the only deal Foles has gotten done today. He also became an endorser for Lululemon. No word yet on how that affected his negotiations with Jacksonville.
It’s obvious that Foles is an upgrade over Bortles. Reportedly, Jacksonville will cut their former starting quarterback after bringing Foles into the fold. The real question is whether or not this was the best way for the Jaguars to move forward at the game’s most crucial position.
The alternative for the franchise would have been to spend a high draft pick on their favorite quarterback in this year’s draft. That might not have given Jacksonville the best chance to win in 2019, but it would have given them a player with a higher ceiling than Foles’ possesses.
Drafting a blue chip prospect would have been the best move, but it doesn’t mean that signing Foles to a big deal was a poor roster decision. The Jaguars still have a very talented roster capable of making a big postseason run if they can get above-average play from the quarterback position. There’s a good chance Foles can give them that. It’s a fine move for the Jaguars, but it isn’t the best use of their offseason resources.
Signing a player better than Bortles doesn’t make this a great move for the Jags. That was a pretty low bar.