Report: Nick Foles Traded To Chicago Bears
(CBS Chicago) -- The Chicago Bears have traded for quarterback Nick Foles, giving up a fourth-round pick (#140) to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the upcoming NFL Draft. Foles will likely compete with incumbent Mitchell Trubisky for the starting job if Trubisky remains with the team.
Nick Foles has had a somewhat unlikely career so far. The third-round pick out of Arizona was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011. After some success as the Eagles starter, Foles was traded to the St. Louis Rams and then found his way to the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency, before returning to Philadelphia.
In his second Eagles run, Foles led the team to their first Super Bowl win after Carson Wentz went down, beating Tom Brady and the Patriots in 2018. But the Super Bowl LII MVP was still a backup in Philadelphia. With Wentz still entrenched as starter, Foles found his way to Jacksonville on a four-year, $88 million deal.
The 31-year-old QB's tenure in Jacksonville was off to a good start, going 5-for-8 for 75 yards and a touchdown, before a big hit broke his collarbone and forced him out of the lineup. This time opportunity worked against him. Little known Gardner Minshew entered in relief and the ensuing "Minshew-Mania" did enough to convince the Jags that Foles was expendable.
Now, reports indicate that his time in Jacksonville is ending and Foles is headed back to the NFC. In Chicago, Foles will compete with former first-round pick Mitchell Trubisky, who has drawn the ire of Bears fans for his inconsistent play. After his 2018 Pro Bowl season, when he completed 67 percent of his passes for 3223 yards and 24 touchdowns, the second pick in the 2017 NFL Draft was predicted to take a big step forward in his third season. That did not happen. Trubisky regressed, completing a smaller percentage of his passes for fewer yards and fewer touchdowns.
The Bears, as a team, took a step back last season. After going 12-4 in 2018 and losing to the Foles-led Eagles in the NFC Wild Card, Chicago was predicted to contend in 2019. But the team sputtered to an 8-8 mark and missed the playoffs entirely. Trubisky's limited effectiveness was partly the problem.
Foles has familiarity with Bears offense and head coach Matt Nagy, who was his co-offensive coordinator in Kansas City when Foles was a backup for Alex Smith in 2016.
