The Big Lead

Jacksonville Jaguars Make Perfect Sense For Nick Foles

By Ryan Phillips

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Nick Foles could be heading into free agency this offseason and is sure to garner a lot of interest. News that broke on Wednesday put the Jacksonville Jaguars at the top of his list of likely destinations.

The Jaguars announced the hiring of John DeFilippo as their new offensive coordinator on Wednesday. DeFilippo was the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterbacks coach from 2016-17 and helped Foles lead the team to a win in Super Bowl LII.

DeFilippo was hired as the Minnesota Vikings’ offensive coordinator before the 2018 season, but was fired after a Week 14 loss. The Jaguars scooped him up to replace Nathaniel Hackett, who was fired on November 26.

Foles played in five games this season and completed 141 of 195 passes (72.3 percent), for 1,413 yards, with 7 touchdowns and four interceptions. In 2017, Foles was stellar during three postseason games for the Eagles. He completed 77 of 106 passes (72.6 percent), for 971 yards, with six touchdowns, one interceptions, a passer rating of 115.7 and a Total QBR of 81.8. He was named the MVP of Super Bowl LII.

Blake Bortles appears to be on his way out in Jacksonville and the franchise needs a new signal-caller.

After being taken with the third pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Bortles has spent his five seasons being an up-and-down presence under-center for the Jags. In 2018 he played in 13 games, completing 60.3 percent of his passes, for 2,718 yards, with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His passer rating (79.8) and Total QBR (45.9) both ranked 30th among the 33rd quarterbacks who qualified. It’s time for Jacksonville to move on.

Foles and the Eagles have a mutual contract option for 2019 at $20 million. Philadelphia could also opt to trade Foles’ rights to another franchise who could then work out a new deal.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and Washington could all be interested in a guy like Foles this summer. But the Jaguars just put themselves in a great position by landing a coach he knows and trusts.