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NFL insider Adam Schefter sent Eagles fans into a frenzy on Sunday morning when he reported the following two things about the Eagles' quarterback situation:
1) The team is not going to put the franchise tag on Sam Bradford
2) The Eagles are interested in acquiring Nick Foles
As a reminder, here's the source of Schefter's report. This is what he had to say during an ESPN broadcast on Super Bowl Sunday:
Schefter on Foles/Bradford. https://t.co/Fvz28UCXAb
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) February 7, 2016
Shortly after Schefter's report emerged, multiple Eagles beat reporters came out and denied both parts of the original report. It was noted that Pederson was a big fan of Foles when the team drafted him in 2012, however.
Now Schefter seems to be doubling down on his report despite the denials from others. He sent out the following tweet on Monday afternoon:
For those who missed it: Eagles will not use franchise tag on QB Sam Bradford and they are expected to inquire about adding QB Nick Foles.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 8, 2016
Once again, I can totally believe the first part of the report. Bradford did not prove to be a franchise quarterback during the 2015 season. It's true that he played his best football in the second half of the season, but his best stretch doesn't even look that great compared to other quarterbacks:
Sample size there is an issue, so let's compare him to other starters 7 game stretches. https://t.co/rztFB8TPQ6 pic.twitter.com/2wHSsfUY0u
— Dave Mangels (@Southern_Philly) February 7, 2016
Franchising Bradford would cost nearly $20 million (all guaranteed) for the 2016 season. Tagging and trading Bradford would be ideal, but the Eagles might not want to take the risk that he'll sign his tender and play on the deal. Or he could opt to hold out. The point is that the franchise tag isn't necessarily a slam dunk option, so it's easy to believe the Eagles might not be interested in it.
The Foles thing, however ... that's pathetic. That the Eagles would be interested in giving up any kind of asset just seems ridiculous. Even a conditional seventh round pick would be too much. Foles was terrible last season. He was the worst starter in the NFL and he got benched for Case Keenum. For those who want to say Foles' surrounding cast wasn't awesome ... there's some truth to that. But Keenum played significantly better than Foles did, so the former Eagles quarterback deserves a lot of blame as well.
Even if the Eagles got Foles for free, I just don't see the point. I'd guess the Eagles would be bringing him back as a placeholder to pair with a rookie quarterback. That's not the worst thing ever because it means the team is serious about bringing in a new franchise passer to develop. But Foles is so awful. Why not Chase Daniel? If Doug Pederson doesn't like Daniel, well, than that's not probably not a good sign since he's seen Daniel up close. But at least a guy like Daniel MIGHT (though not likely) have some theoretical upside. We've already seen what Foles can do. Aside from a fluke 2013 season, he's been terrible. The idea of him coming back and people trying to talk themselves into him (again) is nightmare-worthy.
I can't help but feel a lot of this Eagles offseason has been the team wanting to go back to the well of the team's success under Andy Reid. That doesn't seem like the WORST idea ever, but I feel like this team basically chose between either Chip Kelly's way or Andy Reid's way. Those were not the only two options available to the franchise this offseason. The organization's offseason plan feels unoriginal and uninspiring.
Eagles offseason plan:
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) February 7, 2016
1) Put the GM who got fired back in charge
2) Hire the HC no one else wanted
3) Acquire NFL’s worst starting QB
Maybe Schefter is wrong. Maybe I'm wrong. In the meantime, it's just hard to feel genuinely excited about the direction of this team. There are a lot of question marks.