5 reasons Nick Foles to Chicago Bears makes too much sense
4. Salary
The biggest issue with the Jaguars signing Foles was his huge salary. A four-year, $88 million deal is a lot to swallow. When Foles got hurt in week one and struggled to bounce back, the deal became a disaster.
If the Jaguars keep Foles this offseason, he will be on their salary cap for over $22 million. Considering the Jags benched Foles to roll with the younger Garnder Minshew, it would appear that they have a $22 million backup.
The Jags cannot cut him because of the signing bonus they gave him, but they can trade him. Trading him would still put the signing bonus prorated cost against the Jaguars salary cap, which would be about an $18 million hit. However, it would cut off their long term commitments to Foles and would save them just over $3 million in 2020 cap space.
The team that trades for Foles would have to take on $15 million for 2020. Foles would also be on contract for 2021 and 2022. Those cap hits would be about $20 million. However, the Bears could also get out of the deal after either year and would have a minimal dead salary.
So, the Bears can look at trading for Foles as trading for a one-year, $15 million quarterback who has two options years attached if it works out.
$15 million sounds like a lot for Foles, especially if Pace sticks to his word, and Trubisky starts in 2020. However, the price of a quarterback is a lot, and the price of having a protection plan at quarterback is priceless.
Just last season, the Titans put a $20.9 million quarterback in Marcus Mariota on the bench for a $5.4 million Ryan Tannehill. The Titans spent $26.3 million against the cap on both quarterbacks, and let the competition play itself out. It was worth having that backup plan as the Titans were 2-4 with Mariota and found a way to the AFC championship.
Foles would make about $15 million while Trubisky is on the cap for $9.2 million. This is no different than how the Titans spent their money at quarterback last offseason.
The Browns paid Tyrod Taylor $16 million and drafted Baker Mayfield, ensuring he was not their starter longterm. The Eagles paid Foles $13.7 million to back up Carson Wentz.
Heck, these very Chicago Bears paid $14 million to have Mike Glennon be the backup to a rookie Trubisky. If the Bears can pay $14 million for Glennon to be a backup, they can surely pay $15 million for Foles to take on the same role.
When looking at the Bears cap situation, Kyle Long and Prince Amukamara headline names that will create more than enough space to add Foles’ salary.
Financially the Jags save money in the short and long term, and the Bears can afford the deal as well.