One of the wild cards of the 2020 veteran quarterback market is Nick Foles. The former Super Bowl MVP signed a lucrative $88 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars last season. However, a shoulder injury knocked him out in the first game of the year. This enabled rookie Gardner Minshew to step in and play well, creating a quarterback controversy that eventually saw Foles get benched. Now the Jaguars are saddled with a huge contract for a guy they likely no longer see as their future.
This is why belief is growing they will look to trade him. Teams don't pay over $21 million to backup quarterbacks The problem is that contract makes any deal tough. This is why it's expected they might have to include a draft pick as part of a package to have somebody take him. For a team like the Chicago Bears, who have only two picks in the first three rounds, this might sound appealing. Nevermind Foles' obvious connections to their coaching staff.
The question is will they do it. According to the oddsmakers at SportsLine, only one team has a higher probability of doing so.
Nick Foles trade will be about money for the Bears
Let's make this clear. The only thing standing between the Bears and Foles right now is money. If he were on more of a backup-level contract like he was in Philadelphia? They'd likely have already traded for him. That's how deeply connected he is to the coaches and how respected he is in this style of offense. However, with only $26 million in cap space at present, they are hamstrung on being able to absorb that current contract.
This means one of two things would need to happen. They'd have to find a way to clear more space or they'd need the Jaguars to eat some of that contract. GM Ryan Pace has ways he can do the former. Cutting Leonard Floyd would free up an additional $13.222 million. There are also potential restructures of other contracts on the payroll. As to the latter? Jacksonville could technically do it but the return on any trade in terms of cap space is already minimal. Barely $3 million.
That would diminish further if they ate some of the contract. Conversely, the Indianapolis Colts have a ton of cap space to spare. Absorbing Foles would be easy for them, hence why they're #1 on the list.
