The Nick Foles Era is over for the Chicago Bears.
According to an April 30 report by Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, Foles’ agent Justin Schulman confirmed the team’s new regime, who had been trying to trade the veteran QB for months, decided to let Foles choose where he’ll land next.
“(Bears GM) Ryan Poles did the classy thing and Nick appreciates it,” Schulman told Garofalo.
The #Bears have agreed to release QB Nick Foles, his agent Justin Schulman confirmed. The team’s new regime decided to allow Foles to find his next home rather than continue to search for a trade partner. “Ryan Poles did the classy thing and Nick appreciates it,” Schulman said.
“We’ve kind of fazed that into different fazes,” Poles said after the draft on April 30 when asked his plans for Foles. “Now that it’s post draft, we’ll have some conversations and see where we want to go next with that.”
Those conversations must have happened pretty quickly, as news broke the team was releasing Foles hours after the draft had ended. Considering Foles recently shared photos of himself on his family vacation during the Bears’ voluntary veteran minicamp, this move was entirely expected.
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Foles’ Time in Chicago Didn’t Go as Planned
Foles was originally brought to Chicago in 2020 by former head coach Matt Nagy to compete for the starting job against ex-Bears starter Mitch Trubisky. He wound up replacing Trubisky Week 3 of the 2020 season, but Trubisky eventually won the job back as the year progressed. Foles went 2-5 in place of Trubisky, completing 64.7% of his passes for 1,852 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
In his two seasons in the Windy City, Foles completed 226 of 347 passes for 2,102 yards, 11 TDs and eight interceptions. His seven starts for the Bears in 2020 were the most he’s had in a regular season since 2015, so his days as a starter are clearly over.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t teams who could benefit from having him as a backup, though — and a few analysts think a reunion with a familiar face could be in Foles’ future.
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Potential Landing Spots Floated for Foles Include Chiefs, Eagles
While his skills on the field have faded over the years, the 33-year-old Foles is still an excellent mentor to have in a QB room, and he shouldn’t be without a team for too long.
Grant Gordon of NFL.com named three AFC squads as possibilities, as the veteran signal-caller has several connections in the conference.
“With Foles having played for five teams in his nomadic career, potential landing spots could be with previous coaches, such as Frank Reich in Indianapolis, Doug Pederson in Jacksonville or Andy Reid in Kansas City,” Gordon wrote.
Reuben Frank of NBC Sports is thinking a reunion of a different sort might be in the cards:
“Foles has already had two stints with the Eagles. Is a third possible? Right now, the Eagles have Gardner Minshew backing up Jalen Hurts, and they signed undrafted rookie Carson Strong on Saturday. They also have Reid Sinnett on the roster. There is a thought that the Eagles would try to trade Minshew, and if that happened Foles would make sense as a backup to Hurts.”
The Eagles, who have won five games in a row against the Bears, could very easily use Minshew as a trade chip, and Foles is a legend in Philly, where he led the team to its only Super Bowl win after the 2017 season. A reunion there would make for a storybook ending to his career.
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Bears Release QB Nick Foles, NFC Rival Named Top Landing Spot: Report