NFL insider says talks of Eagles trading for Nick Foles “have been ongoing”

The idea of Nick Foles returning to the Eagles this offseason was broached when the Chicago Bears were rumored to be including Philadelphia’s Super Bowl MVP in a trade package for Carson Wentz. With Wentz going to Indy, however, that dream is dead.

Or maybe not!

NFL insider Jeremy Fowler said Foles to Philly is still alive during a televised ESPN appearance on Saturday morning:

“I wouldn’t take a Nick Foles-Philadelphia reunion off the table right now. Because a few weeks ago, when Chicago was looking to get Carson Wentz, they included Nick Foles in a potential package to Philadelphia. Now, Wentz ultimately went to Indianapolis. But those talks have been ongoing, they’re in place, all they would have to do this week is revive them. Philadelphia is looking for a high level backup, somebody to come in and support Jalen Hurts. Meanwhile, Chicago is just looking to dump some salary right now. They’re in some cap problems, Nick Foles carries a $6.6 [million] cap hit that they could get off their books. I eventually think he’ll be traded, Philadelphia is an option for him.”

The Eagles are certainly in the market for a quarterback since Hurts is currently their only signal-caller under contract. And the Bears can clear $1.3 million in cap space by trading Foles as opposed to losing $3.7 million by releasing him. It’s a feasible possibility.

Should the Eagles trade for Foles, though? We previously wrote the following about the merits of such a maneuver:

I think the Eagles trading for Foles both does and doesn’t make sense.

On one hand, Foles is probably willing to restructure his contract to make it easier for the Eagles to take him back. He obviously loves Philly. Foles has the right temperament to be a backup. And maybe he could even be a good long-term starter for the Eagles since he inexplicably plays much better here than everywhere else.

On the other hand, the Eagles have talked about how they need to get younger and away from nostalgia. Bringing back Foles goes against that messaging. The presence of Foles seems like a potential distraction for whichever young starter (Jalen Hurts or a pick high in the 2021 NFL Draft) the Eagles are moving forward with. And Foles’ long-term starter viability is in serious doubt after we’ve seen him get outplayed by Gardner Minshew and Mitchell Trubisky in consecutive seasons.

The guess here is that the Eagles do end up trading for Foles and it’s something like Philly sending a 2021 sixth-round pick to Chicago in exchange for Foles and the Bears’ 2022 seventh-round pick. Similar terms to what the Eagles paid to reacquire DeSean Jackson back in March 2019.

Foles currently carries a $4 million salary in 2021, which should be affordable for the Eagles. Again, they can always work with him to restructure his deal if needed.

The preference here has been for the Eagles to find the cheapest backup quarterback available since it’s not like they’re seriously competing for a title this year anyway. Foles doesn’t perfectly fit that bill but he shouldn’t be too far off.