The Chicago Bears have reached a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars to acquire veteran quarterback Nick Foles. According to reports, the Bears are sending a compensatory fourth-round pick to Jacksonville in exchange for the former Super Bowl champion.
Obviously, this isn’t a great sign for Chicago’s confidence in Mitchell Trubisky, the guy they traded up to select (ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson) in the 2017 NFL Draft.
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As a result of the trade, the Bears will agree to take on the three years remaining on Foles’ contract, which pays a base value of $50 million. Meanwhile, the Jags will take on a dead cap charge of $18.75M for 2020, but they do have a total of 12 draft picks at their disposal in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Foles, 31, suffered a broken collarbone in his first game with the Jaguars last season, which paved the way for sixth-round rookie Gardner Minshew to take over. Minshew went 4-4 as a starter while Foles was sidelined, but he was benched once the veteran QB was cleared to return. However, Foles struggled and head coach Doug Marrone went back “Minshew Mania” to close out the season. With Foles now headed to Chicago, it’s clear that Marrone and the Jags are prepared to move forward with Minshew as their starting QB in 2020.