Getty Bears GM Ryan Poles admitted the team is currently trying to trade QB Nick Foles.
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles made himself clear when speaking to the media at the NFL owners meetings on March 28: He wants to trade veteran quarterback Nick Foles.
Rumors have been circulating for weeks about the team potentially trading the 33-year-old QB, who is under contract with Chicago for the 2022 season. Poles confirmed those rumors.
“We’ll see,” Poles said about whether the team will trade Foles, per Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune. “Nothing has popped up right now. But we’re working on it. Hopefully something pops up.”
Hopefully isn’t a very neutral word — Poles was letting all 31 other teams in the league know that the former Super Bowl-winning quarterback is currently on the trade block — and it won’t take much at all to get him.
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Bears Inking Backup QB Trevor Siemian to 2-Year Deal Has Sealed Foles’ Fate
The Bears announced the signing of QB Trevor Siemian to a two-year, $4 million deal on March 29, with the idea he’ll be Justin Fields’ new backup. Poles noted he thinks Siemian is a better fit for new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s offense than Foles, and he also cited Siemian’s experience playing behind Peyton Manning in Denver in 2015 and Drew Brees in New Orleans last season as marks in the positive column.
“In this offense, I think he’s a better fit,” Poles said about Siemian, per the Chicago-Sun Times. “In terms of a guy who has been behind Peyton and Brees, there’s also a wealth of knowledge he can bring to Justin.”
“The message is clear: Someone come get Nick Foles,” Bears insider Adam Hoge of CHGO Sports tweeted.
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Bears Will Likely Release Foles Outright if a Trade Doesn’t Happen
Chicago traded for Foles in 2020, restructuring his previous contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars into a three-year, $24 million deal. The Bears have already paid his roster bonus of $4 million for the upcoming 2022 season, which could make him more appealing to teams in need of an experienced backup.
Foles was initially brought to Chicago by former head coach Matt Nagy to compete with ex-QB Mitch Trubisky, so he has no ties to this current staff, who is clearly looking to move on from him.
Per Over the Cap, if the Bears cut Foles (before June 1 or after, it doesn’t matter), they’ll take on $7,666,668 in dead money. They’d also save $3 million in cap space if they let him go, which, if they can’t find a trade partner, they could absolutely do. It shouldn’t take much for them to move the Super Bowl 52 MVP.
“The problem is the market for Foles might not be great,” Sean Hammond of Shaw Media wrote on March 29. “At this point, if the Bears could land a seventh-round pick in return, that’s probably a deal they would take.”
At this point, Foles is a goner. The only mystery remaining is how it happens and where he’ll land next.