With a new league year set to kick off in less than two weeks, it appears as if we know where former Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback Nick Foles will be playing next season.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported on Sunday that the former Super Bowl LVII MVP is expected to sign a multi-year deal next week with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Furthermore, when the deal becomes official, the Jaguars are expected to release quarterback Blake Bortles, who just signed a three-year, $54 million contract extension last offseason.
Les Bowen of Philly.com initially reported about Foles joining the Jaguars on Sunday as well. This move, along with others that have been made this offseason cannot become official until the new league year starts on Mar. 13.
Additionally, NFL teams are not allowed to talk contracts with prospective free agents until Mar. 11. With all that being said, it should not come as a surprise to anyone that Foles will be heading to the Jaguars.
Throughout the early stages of this offseason, the free-agent signal caller was linked to the Jaguars often, despite other teams such as the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Denver Broncos, and Miami Dolphins possibly looking for new quarterbacks.
The Broncos had interest in Foles but ultimately decided to trade for former Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco earlier last month. When it came to the Giants, Foles reportedly had a legitimate interest in Big Blue, but only if the New York moved on from Eli Manning.
On the other hand, the Redskins reportedly have their eyes on Arizona Cardinals second-year quarterback Josh Rosen, while the Dolphins reportedly were not interested in signing either Foles or Teddy Bridgewater in free agency.
Therefore, by process of elimination, the Jaguars look like the potential winner of the Foles’ sweepstakes.
Last week, the Eagles’ executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman officially announced at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, Indiana that Foles would become a free agent.
Philly was debating over the last few weeks about tagging Foles and then trading him to get something of value in return. However, they could not find any suitors and will more than likely get a compensatory pick back for him in the 2020 NFL Draft.
This past season with the Eagles, Foles did a good job in spot duty for starting quarterback Carson Wentz. The former third-round pick started the first two games of the season as Wentz continued his rehab and played in the last three to help the team reach the postseason.
Overall in those five games, Foles completed 72.3 percent of his passes for 1,413 yards, seven touchdowns, and four interceptions.
Foles will now presumably head into a situation in Jacksonville, where they are looking to rebound from a disappointing 5-11 last season and try to win the AFC South.
The veteran quarterback, however, will have some help along the way as John DeFilippo was named Jacksonville’s new offensive coordinator. DeFilippo was the Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator this past season and the previous season, the Eagles quarterback coach.
Nevertheless, Foles hopes that things will be better this time around as a full-time starter. The last time he was a full-time starting quarterback was in 2015 with the then St. Louis Rams.
During that season, Foles struggled under the direction of head coach Jeff Fisher and was thinking about retirement. He only completed 56.4-percent of his passes for 2,052 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
