Chicago Bears: Two hidden reasons for the Nick Foles trade

Foles wanted to be in Chicago

Listen, Nick Foles was going to make a ton of money playing for the Jaguars this season. The thing is, he is still making more money than I will see in my lifetime. In eight seasons, Foles has earned over $62 million dollars. The crazy thing is, he has not even been the starter for most of those years. That said, he does have a record of seven touchdowns in one game on his resume and do not forget he was the 2017 Super Bowl MVP.

That said, Foles has been inconsistent, to say the least. This is why he has found himself on four other teams prior to joining the Chicago Bears. Five teams in nine seasons does not scream success. Last year, Foles was injured early and missed most of the regular season. While he was out, he essentially lost his job to sixth-round draft pick Gardner Minshew.

Minshew saw some early success but honestly is not the answer for the Jaguars. This is not stopping them from using him as a stop-gap as they look to find their next true franchise quarterback. During Nick Foles’ press conference today, he made it clear he wanted to be in Chicago. I do not believe he went to the Jaguars and said they should call the Bears about a trade. That would be ridiculous. However, I do believe he wanted out of Jacksonville.

First of all, I am sure he was not happy his old quarterbacks coach who was now his offensive coordinator in Jacksonville was let go. When news broke that the Jaguars cut ties with DeFilippo, he was instantly on many people’s list to join the Bears. That said, it was a wish list and I do not think many thought it would actually happen. Having to see him go was probably not easy for Foles, but he is a journeyman and I am sure he would have been fine in the end.

If you read what and how Nick Foles spoke at his press conference, you will be able to pick up on things. The Chicago Bears and Jaguars came to a deal, however that deal was contingent on Foles agreeing to restructure his contract. He is essentially making $8 million per year for the next three years but has unknown to public incentives built into his contract allowing him to earn more. He also has an opt-out clause. Without the restructuring, he was not being traded.

To me, this speaks volumes. Foles clearly wanted to be in Chicago more than in Jacksonville. Playing under the Chicago Bears coaching staff clearly made more sense for Foles. Foles also knew he was likely not going to start in 2020 if he stayed. At least here in Chicago, he has a real shot at winning the job from Mitchell Trubisky.

This hidden reason may be more obvious, but the teams agreeing to a trade deal, Foles wanting to leave, Foles wanting to come here and Foles agreeing to restructure his contract requires many stars to align. We will have to wait and see if he makes the team better, but for now, we should all be able to agree that we would not even be talking about this if Foles did not want to be here. He is open to the competition with Trubisky and deep down believes he can beat him out.