Developments on the Nick Foles front yesterday, with the Eagles picking up his 2019 option and Foles buying it out to become a free agent. Procedural moves, really, that just ensure he'll be playing elsewhere next season while giving the Eagles a chance for compensation. I may be alone, but I don't think he's a sure thing.
Nobody can take away Foles' magical Super Bowl run after the 2017 season, and he was only a dropped Alshon Jeffery pass away from maybe repeating it in 2018. The guy is clutch, no question.
But will he be the franchise signal-caller that some team will be paying for this offseason, in terms of the money he'll require on a multi-year deal and also the draft pick compensation (if the Eagles use the franchise tag on him, as expected)? That I'm not as certain about.
Foles went 5-2 in his seven starts last season (including the playoffs), and there's no taking that away from him. That was better than Carson Wentz, who went 5-6 and has some Eagles fans thinking the team should commit to Foles and trade Wentz instead.
But Foles just turned 30 (Wentz is four years younger), and there's not much statistical support for keeping him over Wentz (aside from, admittedly, the wins-losses category, which is the most important statistic). Wentz didn't have a great season, but he was superior to Foles in most key areas -- yards, touchdowns, interceptions and quarterback rating.
| NICK FOLES STARTS, 2018 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | Result | Yds | TD | Int | Sck | Rate | Run | TD |
| ATL | W 18-12 | 117 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 50.7 | -1 | 0 |
| @ TB | L 21-27 | 334 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 98.8 | 8 | 0 |
| @ LA | W 30-23 | 270 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 89.4 | 5 | 0 |
| HOU | W 32-30 | 471 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 120.4 | 1 | 0 |
| @ WAS | W 24-0 | 221 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 102.1 | 4 | 0 |
| @ CHI | W 16-15 | 266 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 77.7 | -1 | 0 |
| @ NO | L 14-20 | 201 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 61.4 | 0 | 1 |
| Average | 269 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 85.8 | 2.3 | 0.14 | |
| CARSON WENTZ STARTS, 2018 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | Result | Yds | TD | Int | Sck | Rate | Run | TD |
| IND | W 20-16 | 255 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 84.9 | 10 | 0 |
| @ TEN | L 23-26 | 348 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 99.4 | 8 | 0 |
| MIN | L 21-23 | 311 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 115.3 | 26 | 0 |
| @ NYG | W 34-13 | 278 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 122.2 | 14 | 0 |
| CAR | L 17-21 | 310 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 119.6 | 3 | 0 |
| @ JAX | W 24-18 | 286 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 119.6 | 28 | 0 |
| DAL | L 20-27 | 360 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 102.5 | 7 | 0 |
| @ NO | L 7-48 | 156 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 31.9 | 6 | 0 |
| NYG | W 25-22 | 236 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 108.6 | -2 | 0 |
| WAS | W 28-13 | 306 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 98.9 | -4 | 0 |
| @ DAL | L 23-29 | 228 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 120.3 | -3 | 0 |
| Average | 280 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 102.1 | 8.5 | 0 | |
From a fantasy perspective, it's definitely a better, more productive offense with Wentz in the lineup. If Foles goes to say the Jaguars, as is the popular landing spot (Jacksonville hired John DeFilippo as its new offensive coordinator, who was with the Eagles when Foles led them to the Super Bowl), will he spark a top-level passing game? I don't think so.
Maybe Foles proves me wrong. He's got the Super Bowl MVP that says he's a winner. But if some team gives the Eagles a high draft pick and then big money to Foles, I think it's more likely they're getting just a short-term fix (a better version of someone like Case Keenum) than a long-term answer and star quarterback. And fantasy-wise, I don't think he'll give that team a lot of great prospects.
--Andy Richardson