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The Jacksonville Jaguars' experiment with quarterback Nick Foles lasted only one season before he was traded to the Chicago Bears. Although the writing for his eventual departure had seemingly been on the wall, it appears general manager Dave Caldwell had every intention of keeping him around for the 2020 NFL season.
The emergence of quarterback Gardner Minshew undoubtedly played a part in Jacksonville's decision to part ways with Foles.
However, Caldwell says the team planned on holding on to Foles until the opportunity to shore up some much-needed cap space and draft capital came up, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:
“I think with Nick’s situation is we weren’t looking to move him,” Caldwell said. “We were looking to keep him, and then there were a handful of teams that were interested in him and we felt that his value and if we were going to start him, we thought enough of Gardner to name him the starter or at least to compete with Nick to be a starter, and then if we could get a good-value draft pick, which we did out of Chicago, and get out from underneath the contract, we just felt like it was the best thing to do for the team.”
The Jaguars made quite an investment to bring Foles in on a four-year contract worth $88 million to serve as their starter. Unfortunately, his injury in the season opener made way for Minshew to prove himself as a major steal by taking the league by storm after being taken in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Despite Minshew's promise as a rookie, it seems Jacksonville was still adamant about keeping a veteran option around on the depth chart this offseason. Not only would it give them some quality depth under center, but it could also help pay huge dividends for his development.
The Jaguars were able to rid themselves of a huge contract while acquiring a fourth-round pick in exchange for Foles. They now have a chance to bring in a much cheaper option that could potentially fill the same role in former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton.
