Jason Cole of Fansided reports that Eagles GM Howie Roseman is considering the idea of franchising QB Nick Foles and then trading him to a team outside of the NFC East.
According to Cole, the Eagles believe there’s a “strong chance” the Giants will part ways with QB Eli Manning and attempt to sign Foles if he ends up hitting the open market.
Cole mentions that Foles has say in the matter, seeing as he would likely have to agree to a long-term extension with any team he’s being traded to in order for them to part with the kind of compensation the Eagles are looking for.
“I think Howie is overthinking this,” a source tells Cole. “If you put the franchise tag on (Foles), that means he and the agent are going to think $25 million a year is the starting point for a negotiation and that’s going to be too high in my opinion. I think his market is more in the $22 or $23 million range (annually) … Howie could get stuck with him at $25 million for one year.”
The Eagles made the decision to pick up Foles’ $20 million option and he responded by informing them that he will pay back the $2 million he needs to in order to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
From here, the Eagles can explore the trade market for Foles before the deadline to use the franchise tag on him later this month. Otherwise, they’re in a situation where they would have to let him walk and collect a compensatory pick in 2020.
Foles, 29, is a former third-round pick of the Eagles back in 2012. Philadelphia traded Foles to the Rams back in 2015 in a deal for QB Sam Bradford and he later signed an extension with the Rams.
Unfortunately, Foles lasted just over a year with the Rams before he was released last summer and later signed by the Chiefs. The Eagles signed Foles to a two-year, $11 million contract that includes $7 million guaranteed this past March.
Foles was set to make a base salary of $4 million in 2018 when he agreed to a restructured contract this offseason.
In 2018, Foles appeared in four games and thrown for 1,192 yards while completing 69.8 percent of his passes to go along with five touchdowns and three interceptions.
We had him featured in our Top 100 – 2019 NFL Free Agents list.
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