While the Philadelphia Eagles are focused on the possibility of backup quarterback Nick Foles delivering another magical Super Bowl run, the fact of the matter is that time is running out for the 30-year-old quarterback in the City of Brotherly Love.
As soon as the Eagles’ season ends — whether that be on Sunday in the Divisional Round against the New Orleans Saints, or in Atlanta during Super Bowl LIII — the offseason of Foles will officially commence.
When Foles re-signed with the Eagles following his Super Bowl MVP performance that delivered the franchise with its first modern-day NFL title, a mutual option was drawn up for a possible second year of his deal in 2019.
Should the Eagles choose to pick the option up, Foles would have to agree to it and thus, will earn $20 million next season. With Carson Wentz still planted as the franchise quarterback, this would allow the Eagles to trade Foles to whoever offers the highest return.
That likely is not going to happen.
Instead, Foles can pay back $2 million of his signing bonus after this season, decline the option and become an unrestricted free agent.
It allows Wentz’s backup to not only find the greenest pasture to become another franchise’s starting quarterback, but it also opens up the possibility of a major payday, far more than $20 million for one year.
There won’t be a shortage of suitors gunning for his signature, either.
With a lackluster crop of quarterbacks set to come out in the 2019 NFL Draft, which will be headlined by Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins and Missouri’s Drew Lock, passer-needy teams will be scouring the market for No. 1 options under center.
Among those is expected to be the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars, as the futures of Eli Manning and Blake Bortles respectively are in serious doubt. They could be joined by the Oakland Raiders, who are toying with the idea of moving on from Derek Carr, and possibly even the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should management deem Jameis Winston unfit to lead the organization.
It’s easy to see why Foles is poised for such a big offseason, proving that he is a big-game QB.
Not only has he outdueled Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on one of the largest sporting stages in the world, but he resurrected the Eagles’ dim playoff hopes, went 3-0 down the stretch to nab a Wild Card spot, and then beat one of the league’s best defenses in the Chicago Bears.
He’s 7-2 in his last nine regular-season starts and now 4-0 in the playoffs since last year.
So enjoy this playoff run now, Eagles fans. Because the best postseason quarterback in franchise history is probably going to walk once the season ends.
