Jacksonville Jaguars: Nick Foles agrees with team one year ago today

After one year in the books, we reflect on the Jacksonville Jaguars coming to terms with free-agent quarterback Nick Foles.

One year ago today, the Jacksonville Jaguars announced the organization and Nick Foles had agreed to a four-year, $88M contract. Since then, the team has not gotten the return on its investment like it had hoped.

Some could say if it weren’t for Blake Bortles, Foles would not be wearing a Jaguars uniform. There are those who have said it is Tom Coughlin’s fault the front office outbid itself on a deal with Foles that has forced the team to make decisions this offseason regarding the salary cap.

My mother has even questioned his commitment to the team and playing football. Whether it is because of the injury that he suffered in Week 1 that set him and the franchise back or the poor performances he showed when he stood under center to his comments he has made in front of local media that may have rubbed some fans the wrong way, Foles should still be on this roster for the 2020 season unless general manager David Caldwell can find a trade partner.

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There is still plenty of talk about “potential” trade deals that have kept many analysts busy over the offseason and speculation about a reunion in Chicago with former Jaguars offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. Talk of another reunion, this time in Indianapolis with his Frank Reich, his former offensive coordinator in Philadelphia, has also been volleyed about.

Still, nothing has proven to be true from the Jaguars’ front office. The thought of Foles and Gardner Minshew battling to win the starting job in training camp is a real possibility. And as one fan told me yesterday when I was in the grocery store, how can you leave $88M on the bench without doing something about it?

Fans were excited that a former Super Bowl MVP chose Jacksonville as his next football home. He said the right things and wanted to start building a culture of winning – something this team knew little about over the past decade. That could still happen, but the variables have changed and the script must be rewritten.

In 365 days fans have switched their allegiances and are hoping Minshew’s magic will continue to rein over TIAA Bank Field. He won all six games for the Jaguars last season, but it was one SIX GAMES. There is still plenty of room for improvement – something Foles can still have a hand in. The race to win the quarterback job in Jacksonville isn’t over. Should the veteran come in, wrestle the job away and put W’s on the scoreboard, I wonder how quickly the fans will once again change their thought process?

If anything, the Jaguars need not worry about the quarterback position as others on the roster. There are plenty of other needs for this organization. But as time has flown by, it is apparent the team still has a quarterback problem. The front office, however, wants it to play out in camp this season to determine if the situation is better with an $88M signal-caller who might ride the bench this season or can he resurrect his career once again.

Can Foles prove he is the man to lead the Jaguars further than they traveled last season or will the same questions arise as to why the team spent the $88M in the first place and haven’t seen the fiscal responsibility in making that chess move in the first place?