Jaguars: Is there a connection between Nick Foles and the Bears?

Would the Jacksonville Jaguars consider a trade for Nick Foles? More importantly, would the Chicago Bears consider a trade for the high-priced quarterback?

It didn’t take long for former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator John DeFilippo to find another job once he and the organization parted ways on Monday. And it did not take long for speculation to begin about quarterback Nick Foles and his future with the Jaguars based on DeFilippo’s new place of employment.

"“Rumors are swirling around social media right now about how the recent hires of Bill Lazor and John DeFilippo could be the compass that leads the Chicago Bears into acquiring Nick Foles,” writes Rob Schwarz, Jr. of FanSided.com’s site, Bear Goggles On."

The connection between the current Jaguars quarterback and DeFilippo was one of the reasons Jacksonville’s front office bid against itself in bringing in the former Philadelphia Eagles icon. Now, a little less than a year removed from the team giving fans hope of a Super Bowl run last season, Foles may be the most expensive backup in the NFL this season, playing behind Gardner Minshew.

With the basic structure of Foles’ contract haunting this team already – to the turn of more than $50 million in guaranteed money over the first two years of the deal – there aren’t many options open to play “Let’s Make A Deal.”

There was already speculation Chicago could be a destination for Foles if the Bears wanted to look for a player to challenge Mitchell Trubisky next season. This was even before Foles had come off the Injured Reserve list from a broken collar bone. Now, as Schwartz, Jr. points out, there is no need for the Bears to pursue Foles and the team shouldn’t even kick the tires on the idea.

More from Jaguars Rumors

"“Those connecting the dots are correct in that both of the coaches Matt Nagy hired as of late have direct connections to Nick Foles. Bill Lazor was the quarterbacks coach in Philadelphia when Nick Foles had his career year. In that 2013, Foles was lights out, throwing for 27 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Could Lazor help Foles relive his glory days here in Chicago? Maybe, but getting Foles here is the problem,” he adds.“John DeFilippo has connections to Nick Foles as well. In fact, DeFilippo coached Foles for two other teams. Why not a third? DeFilippo was the quarterbacks coach in Philadelphia when the Eagles went on their Super Bowl run in 2017. Foles played a big part in that run as he stepped in after Carson Wentz went down with an injury and was fantastic during the playoffs. Maybe Foles can ignite the Chicago Bears stagnant offense? Doubtful.”"

There are few teams in the league that could make a move to secure Foles’ services for the coming season, which means some crafty positioning by the Jaguars and the team that might be interested. John Shipley of SI.com wrote there still could be some interest with the Bears moving forward.

"“We have written previously about the options Jacksonville has when it comes to Foles, who signed a four-year, $88 million contract worth more than $45 million in guarantees last March. Jacksonville could give Foles another crack at the starting job, which would be plausible considering he only started four games last season,” Shipley writes.“They could also cut Foles and roll with Gardner Minshew II or a different starting quarterback, but this would amount to Jacksonville having to pay nearly $34 million in dead cap, a massive figure. This is unlikely.“Of course, a third option is trading Foles. In a trade, the Jaguars would save more than $3 million in cap space, while amounting to a $18.75 dead cap hit. This isn’t ideal, obviously, but it is more reasonable than cutting Foles and his bloated contract.”"

The Jaguars released Blake Bortles last offseason (to sign Foles) which proved to be a $15 million cap hit for the team, one that has handcuffed the front office in trying to work deals to either sign other tree agents or give existing players contract extensions for the future. Jacksonville’s biggest need this offseason is to re-sign soon-to-be-free agent Yannick Ngakoue.

The other connection with Foles and the Bears is Nagy, who is now Chicago’s head coach, but the Chiefs offensive coordinator when Foles was on their roster in 2016.

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Jaguars: Is there a connection between Nick Foles and the Chicago Bears?

By David Levin | Jan 16, 2020

Would the Jacksonville Jaguars consider a trade for Nick Foles? More importantly, would the Chicago Bears consider a trade for the high-priced quarterback?