The Eagles are perpetually unafraid to churn the quarterback room. Last year at this time Sam Bradford was the guy and Philadelphia was fully committed to him -- and then two months later he was mad about them drafting Carson Wentz. There won’t be as much drama this year, but a new backup plan is in the works.
Philadelphia announced Monday morning it signed a vestige from the Chip Kelly era, bringing back Nick Foles on a two-year contract.
Foles, of course, famously set a record for the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in 2013 (27:2) while playing under Kelly in Philadelphia, while playing under Kelly in Philadelphia, inspiring the zenith of “Chip Kelly can make anyone great” chatter. It was bested by Tom Brady of the Super Bowl-winning Patriots this past year (28:2).
Boy, does that feel like a million years ago.
Foles was eventually traded for Bradford straight up in a deal that initially looked like an “everyone lost” situation but became a “wow the Rams really lost” situation after St. Louis/Los Angeles handed Foles an extension and the Eagles got a first-round pick in exchange for Bradford.
The return of Foles means it is very likely that Chase Daniel, the long-time backup in Kansas City for Doug Pederson who signed a huge deal -- relative to most backups -- with Philly last offseason, could be headed out the door.
Eagles have agreed to terms on a 2-year contract with QB Nick Foles, team announces. Been reporting PHI trying to move QB chase Daniel
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 13, 2017
Daniel has an $8 million cap hit coming and would count just $1 million in dead cap space if he’s released. Saving $7 million in cap space by getting rid of your backup quarterback when you have the quarterback of the future is a pretty easy move, especially if you can bring in someone else the organization is familiar with.
The Eagles know Foles well, with him having spent several years in Philly after being drafted by Andy Reid.
It’s not a sexy move, but it’s a “second wave of free agency” move, the Eagles churning the backup quarterback waters in order to free up cap space and make some other moves after the initial surge of free agency.
Now we wait for a corresponding move involving Daniel.
