Thursday, February 14, 2013
More Foles trade discussion
By Tim Kavanagh
Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Eagles elected to re-structure the contract of QB Michael Vick, all but ensuring that he'd be on the roster for the 2013 season. (Technically, they could still trade him, but this becomes exceedingly unlikely). As a result, some wondered whether this meant that the Eagles would look to deal Nick Foles, the rising second-year pro who overtook Vick as the starter at the tail end of the 2012 campaign.
Though there are certainly no shortage of teams looking for another solution at QB this offseason, Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News thinks such a move would be foolhardy:
"If the Eagles don't trade Foles, and don't draft a franchise QB, maybe all Foles has to do is wait for Vick to eventually get hurt to get the chance Foles should be getting, right from the get-go, to show he is the guy. Trading Foles at this point could be a huge mistake, unless you were getting back, say, a high second-round pick. I would guess there will be teams asking; plenty of people in the NFL understand that Super Bowls tend to be won with a quarterback's arm and head, not with his feet."
It's hard to see another team offering a high second-round pick in exchange for Foles -- even the Kansas City Chiefs, who employ former Eagles HC Andy Reid, and who have the second overall pick in the second round -- so if the Eagles' decision-makers are of the same opinion as Bowen, a trade is unlikely. In the view of ESPN NFC East blogger Dan Graziano, this is a good thing:
Dan Graziano
Having a good backup is wise"You have to be two-deep at quarterback in the NFL. You just have to. The Cowboys pay their backup more than $3 million a year. The Redskins took a backup quarterback in the fourth round last year even though they'd already spent their first-rounder, their second-rounder and their next two first-rounders to take one earlier in the draft. There's no way to know when a quarterback is going to get hurt (especially when it's one with Vick's injury track record), and it's important to have someone behind him who's not going to throw up all over himself if you put him in the game. We have seen Foles take NFL snaps and make NFL throws. As someone who has done that, he has value to the Eagles in 2013 as a part of their roster. Beyond 2013, who knows? Foles could be the long-term answer for the Eagles at starting quarterback. He could be a career backup. We haven't seen enough, in either direction, to make a firm conclusion on that. Kelly's smart enough to know that, and in the absence of a Robert Griffin III-level solution, he is keeping his options open. When you're dealing with quarterback in the NFL, it's best to have as many options as you can."
