The Philadelphia Eagles may or may not need to trade Nick Foles at some point. The Eagles were most likely to send Foles to the Kansas City Chiefs days ago, yet Andy Reid picked up Alex Smith instead. With that destination out of the question, the New York Jets might now top the list of possible suitors for Foles, but that door is being shut for the moment as well.
The New York Daily News’ Manish Mehta tweeted on March 4 that the Jets “aren’t interested” in acquiring Foles as Mark Sanchez’s new backup. The possibility was raised because the Jets now have former Eagles’ offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg in the same position. However, that kind of logic didn’t result in Reid reuniting with Foles either.
If the Chiefs wouldn’t or couldn’t go after Foles because he worked with Reid, why would the Jets get him just because he worked with Mornhinweg? They may be able to afford it because they already have a starter, albeit an embattled one in Sanchez. Yet given Sanchez’s unpopularity and recent struggles, his new backup will become the most popular Jet in town.
New York needs someone to step in at a moment’s notice if or when Sanchez finally loses his job. Yet Foles might not be the ideal man for that position, since he already had to step in for the embattled Michael Vick in Philadelphia and didn’t excel. Because he didn’t, the Eagles had to keep Vick and bring in the similar Dennis Dixon to challenge Foles as top backup.
Even if Foles loses that battle and becomes expendable, it is now unlikely that he would find a starting job elsewhere. The Chiefs were his best shot, given how hard up they were for a quarterback until they traded for Smith. The Jets could give him a real shot thanks to Sanchez’s problems, but that door is still closed as of right now.
The Eagles would want solid compensation in a trade for Foles, and will need to keep their options open because of Vick’s fragility and Dixon’s inexperience. Therefore, Foles may be too valuable to trade for the time being, even if he isn’t as valuable on the playing field.
But if the Jets can’t find a more suitable backup for Sanchez, they could always rethink Foles again down the line.
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