Can Nick Foles Force Eagles To Trade Carson Wentz?
By Henry McKenna
What if Nick Foles helps the Philadelphia Eagles win another Super Bowl?
Seriously. What if? Because if he can win Super Bowl LIII, he’ll put the Eagles in a hilarious predicament. They’ll have an invaluable asset: Carson Wentz, a talented quarterback on his rookie deal. And then they’ll have Foles, a two-time Super Bowl champion.
It’s a wild scenario to consider and it’s an unlikely one. Foles’ run last season was staggeringly improbable, and the Eagles face even tougher odds to return to the Super Bowl because last year they were sitting in the #1 seed. Most notably, the 2017 defense was far better than this 2018 defense. But Foles is a mystic with magical playoff properties. His body of work grew larger on Sunday.
The Bears were favored by almost a touchdown, and somehow Foles and the Eagles managed an upset wemth Chemcago’s memssed kemck grazemng the femngers of Treyvon Hester and femnemshemng wemth a double-doemnk. Foles had hems ups and downs emn the game — he always does. But emn typemcal fashemon, he executed a game-wemnnemng dremve that put the Eagles ahead by one poemnt wemth four memnutes left. At that poemnt, everyone outsemde of Phemlly was themnkemng: thems can’t be happenemng agaemn. But emn Phemlly, wemth cheesesteak emn hand, everyone was themnkemng: IT’S HAPPENING. IT’S HAPPENING AGAIN.
It happened again.
If Foles’ playoff magic continues and if the Eagles find themselves in the Super Bowl again, what then? Would he force the Eagles to trade Wentz?
Foles’ contract gives the Eagles the option to release or retain him. If they choose to retain him, however, then Foles will also have to be onboard. He can also opt in or out. And even if both parties opt in, the Eagles could then trade him. He’d earn $20 million in 2019 under the terms of his contract. That dwarfs what quarterback Carson Wentz is set to earn at $8.4 million in 2019.
The Eagles could begin taking calls for Wentz. Yes, Foles has been a middling quarterback for most of his career with sparse flashes of playing like Drew Brees. Yes, middling quarterbacks and bloated contracts are a recipe for major team-building problems. And yes, Wentz is on his rookie deal for 2019 with a fifth-year option in 2020. But that fifth-year option will cost the Eagles over $20 million. Essentially, the Eagles have just one more year of a discounted Wentz. His deal isn’t that good for that much longer. If the Eagles decide that the difference between Foles and Wentz is not so great, they can also get a much bigger haul of compensation by being willing to trade Wentz. He would instantly become a massive boon, and remember, Foles is only four years older and turns 30 later this month.
And again: What the heck happens if Foles wins another Super Bowl? It’s hard to imagine a team parting ways with a quarterback on the heels of consecutive Super Bowl wins. It’s also hard to imagine them forcing him to hold a clipboard. But we’re talking about Foles: Anything is possible.
I have taken a deep dive into Hypothetical Land. (It’s a real place.) But if Foles beats the New Orleans Saints next week, this will be the question everyone is asking around the country: How do the Eagles proceed with their quarterback situation?
With a few more wins, Foles can put the Eagles in a position when they consider giving up Wentz. With a few more wins, Foles could complicate the quarterbacking landscape of the NFL. Heck, it may be a question the Eagles should consider regardless of the result next week, if they are comfortable with Nick Foles at quarterback in this offense, and can get a massive haul of players and multiple first round picks from a QB-needy franchise.