Washington Redskins: Steer clear of Nick Foles for 2019
By Hunter Noll
The Washington Redskins once again find themselves in a position where they need a new quarterback. Nick Foles isn’t the answer though.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The Washington Redskins need a quarterback. It’s a story that seems to be relevant nearly every year. Sometimes, it’s relevant multiple times in a year, like this past season, when the Redskins were searching for quarterbacks on three separate occasions.
Alex Smith was supposed to be an answer until they could build a younger quarterback up. A gruesome injury forced him out midseason and now he’ll miss 2019. In fact, there’s a good chance he’ll never play a game in the NFL again. Due to that, Washington needs to find someone this offseason. There are two options, the draft and free agency.
The problem with going through the draft is that they have the fifteenth overall pick. Who’s to say a quarterback they want will still be available at that point. Then if they wait until later rounds, there’s a good chance that’s a quarterback you wouldn’t want to start immediately. Of course, trading up is an option, but I’ve already given my stance on that too (Spoiler: Don’t do it).
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That leaves free agency. Names like Tyrod Taylor, Teddy Bridgewater and Ryan Fitzpatrick are all floating out there. The big name is Nick Foles, though. After another run to get the Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs he’s a hot commodity. Philadelphia probably isn’t going to just let him walk away though. The idea seems to be to franchise tag him and offer him up to teams in a trade — asking for a draft pick.
If the franchise tag happens, Foles would be making around $25 million next season. Meanwhile, the Eagles would be asking for at least a third-round pick for the quarterback.
Washington needs to build a roster. They have quite a few holes outside of quarterback. So losing a draft pick and putting that type of money on a quarterback is hard to imagine. The Redskins are known for making moves like that though. I mean, they just did something similar last year for Smith.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I think Foles is a great backup quarterback and could be a decent starter. That being said, his numbers aren’t as good as many seem to think. Last year, for example, Foles had seven touchdowns compared to four interceptions and three fumbles (seven total turnovers) in five games. He did throw for 1,413 yards in that time though.
However, in five games, numbers can easily be skewed. Foles threw for 471 yards and four touchdowns in one game alone. He also had the luxury of facing the some weak defenses. The Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins had the two best passing defenses he faced, ranking 14th and 15th in the NFL. The other three teams (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans) ranked 26th, 27th and 28th in the league.
Then there was the playoffs. Where Foles had more interceptions (4) than touchdown passes (3).
The Redskins would be better served staying away from Foles. Even if he ends up a free agent, the price tag is going to be extremely high. When you’re looking to reset the franchise (which is what they should be going for), signing a 30-year-old quarterback to a massive deal isn’t the move. Especially when he isn’t elite.
Washington would be smarter to go after someone they can give a short, cheap deal to. Someone like Taylor, who will be looking to prove himself, would make sense.
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Or, hear me out, Robert Griffin III. The Redskins old quarterback was back in the NFL last season and would check off a lot of boxes. He’s going to come cheap and won’t be expecting a longterm deal. That way, Washington can still get a young quarterback they want to build around without throwing him to the wolves in year one.
Whatever direction the Washington Redskins decide to go, Nick Foles should be it. The sacrifices they would have to make to bring him in just don’t make sense. Then again, Washington’s never exactly been the franchise to make sensible moves.