It’s crazy to think that the Eagles might have no choice but to part with a quarterback who just keeps winning games for them.
Have we ever seen a more bizarre situation in sports than that of Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles? It’s confusing and a little bit awkward, but yet it’s giving Eagles fans some incredible memories.
Philadelphia has what we thought was its franchise quarterback in Carson Wentz. But yet, Foles — who has spent much of his tenure with the Eagles as their backup quarterback — is the guy that is winning them playoff games, including last year’s Super Bowl.
His postseason magic continued on Sunday with a 16-15 upset win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. With the Eagles trailing by five points, Foles drove the Eagles down the field and connected with Golden Tate for the go-ahead touchdown with just under a minute to play. After Bears kicker Cody Parkey hit both the left upright and the crossbar on his game-winning field goal attempt, Foles then took a knee to clinch another win for the Eagles, sending them to New Orleans for next week’s divisional round.
Quite simply, when it comes to December and January football, Foles just cannot lose. And to be honest, it’s putting the Eagles in a difficult spot.
Since Foles just keeps on winning, do they keep him? Do they trade him? It’s likely they would get a pretty solid return for the 29-year-old, but how can you trade someone who keeps winning you playoff games?
Wentz had an outstanding 2017 season before going down with a torn ACL in December, which opened the door for Foles to step in and lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl title. This year, Wentz wasn’t quite as impressive as he was the year before. At this point, it almost seems like the Eagles are better off with Foles at quarterback.
But Wentz is young, and he still has most of his career ahead of him. The thought of the Eagles actually choosing to keep Foles over him just doesn’t seem realistic. Thus, they will have to make a decision about what to do with the reigning Super Bowl MVP once this season wraps up.
The most likely scenario? Foles will be traded. He could easily wind up with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are in need of a quarterback after essentially pulling the plug on Blake Bortles. The quarterback position has been their biggest weakness, and Foles could clear that problem up very quickly.
Another team that could be in need of a quarterback is the Washington Redskins, who most likely will be without Alex Smith next year following the gruesome leg injury he suffered this season. However, Redskins fans shouldn’t hold their breath on the Eagles sending Foles their way. They won’t want to trade him to a team within their own division, as they would then have to play him twice a year.
One more team to keep in mind is the Oakland Raiders, who probably won’t be playing in Oakland next season. Derek Carr is currently their quarterback, but he struggled heavily this year — as did the entire team — and his future with the Raiders is unclear. Would Jon Gruden pull the trigger on Foles? It would probably be one of his better decisions, as long as he didn’t give up the team’s next five first rounders to do it.
Given his ongoing heroics, many Eagles fans probably wouldn’t want to see Foles depart from Philadelphia. But sooner or later, Philly is going to have to choose between Wentz and Foles. Seeing as how Wentz was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and has potential to be one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks, they just can’t in good conscience go in another direction.
It certainly is a strange situation for Foles to be in, and soon enough, the Eagles will have to deal with this dilemma. But right now, the only thing on their minds is the New Orleans Saints, whom they will face at the Superdome next Sunday.