In a change of events since the earlier trends in the offseason, it looks like the Philadelphia Eagles are set to let quarterback Nick Foles walk away and sign for a different team in free agency. Foles has been speculated on as a stopgap option at QB for the New York Giants, but it was believed before that the Eagels would sign Foles to a new deal before trading him away to save cap space. It looks, though, like Foles will become a free agent after all.
“We’ve been so fortunate over the last couple of years to have two top-15 quarterbacks in Carson and Nick,” said Eagles Executive VP of Football Operations Howie Roseman, on Wednesday. “We’ve spent a lot of time discussing this internally and with him, and we’ve decided to let Nick become a free agent.”
The other alternative would have been to use the franchise tag on Foles, which would be the more expensive option and would waste the tag on a backup quarterback who isn’t expected to get playing time barring an injury to starter Carson Wentz.
Foles could be a target for the New York Giants but not as a starter. It looks like the team will draft a quarterback whose goal is to learn behind Eli Manning, but another option would be drafting a quarterback in the future and signing Foles for now, who has the skills to push Eli Manning as actual competition while remaining in a backup role.
It’s not the likeliest deal, though. While New York does ave a certain appeal, all signs point to Eli Manning being the starter this season and therefore the Giants may not be the most attractive destination to Foles, regardless of pay. Still, it’s good to have options, and one of those options might be Nick Foles if things go the way they’re currently headed.