Chicago Bears: Nick Foles trade brings in real competition at quarterback
The Chicago Bears acquired quarterback Nick Foles. The trade gives the offense a former Super Bowl MVP and solidifies the quarterback position.
Well, Chicago Bears fans wanted another quarterback on the roster who could challenge Mitchell Trubisky more than Chase Daniel ever could. After hearing rumors connecting them to Derek Carr, Andy Dalton, Teddy Bridgewater, and others, they finally found their man in former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles.
The Bears traded their 2020 fourth-round compensatory pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for Foles. They then worked a restructure of his deal so that the contract could be voided in either of the last two years (2021 and 2022).
The move signals that there will be a real quarterback competition in the 2020 season. Foles has mainly been a backup in his career but has done well for the most part when starting. In 2013 in his first go-around with the Philadelphia Eagles, he went to the Pro Bowl and led the league in touchdown percentage (8.5 percent), yards per pass attempt, and passer rating (119.2). He threw for 27 touchdowns against just two interceptions.
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He then went to the then-St. Louis Rams for a season and the Kansas City Chiefs, but didn’t get a chance to shine. In 2017, he returned to Philadelphia, where he stepped in after Carson Wentz got injured late in the season and led the Eagles to a Super Bowl win against the New England Patriots. In 2018, he again came off the bench to get the Eagles into the playoffs where he led them to a win on the road over, coincidentally, the Bears in the Wild Card Round.
Foles has ties to the Bears coaching staff. He was in Kansas City with head coach Matt Nagy and played under offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo during his time in Philadelphia. That means he is familiar with the system in Chicago. Additionally, the Bears ran the second-most “run/pass option” (RPO) plays and Foles ranks fourth in the percentage of RPO plays over the past several years (Trubisky ranked fifth).
The starting job is Trubisky’s to lose. He’ll have a short leash, however. If he comes out and struggles like he did last season, I don’t think Nagy will shy away from replacing him. His familiarity with the system and coaches and past success stepping up means he can step in and succeed.
This move also means that Trubisky will finally get some meaningful preseason plays. Besides a couple of early snaps, he hasn’t really played during the preseason. Many feel that the lack of snaps in the preseason hurts how he gets off in the regular season. Well, he should see more snaps and he’ll have to do well if he wants to keep his job.
After general manager Ryan Pace reversed his policy of not offering big contracts to 30-year-old players, it seems he feels that the Bears are pretty close to winning sooner than later. Yes, there are still holes to be filled, but this a strong team. The Bears lost eight games in 2019 but five of them were by one possession (eight points or less). If they get better play from their quarterback then the results in 2020 could be a great deal better than in 2019.
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Now we need to see what else Pace has up his sleeve. The quarterback position is now stronger than it was in 2019. The tight end, while still needing more work, is better. Also, let’s not forget that with the Robert Quinn signing the Bears might now have one of the best linebacker units in all of football. Let’s see what happens with the offensive line and, of course, let’s not forget the draft is just over a month away.