Eagles declined Nick Foles-Browns trade earlier this offseason

Shortly before the start of the league year, the Philadelphia Eagles turned down a potential trade that would have sent Super Bowl LII MVP Nick Foles to the Cleveland Browns for the 35th overall pick in the 2018 draft, according to three sources familiar with the talks.

Before rejecting the deal, two sources said, the Eagles ran the scenario by Foles, who said he preferred to remain in Philadelphia. In April, the Eagles and Foles agreed to a re-worked contract that gave him a $2 million bonus for 2018 and allowed him to earn up to $14 million in incentives, while creating a "mutual option" for him to remain with the team in 2019. (Basically, Foles is free to leave if he pays back the $2 million.)

The Browns, meanwhile, turned their attention to former Buffalo Bills starter Tyrod Taylor, who they acquired for a third-round pick on March 10. Cleveland later selected former Oklahoma star Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick of the draft, though coach Hue Jackson has declared that Taylor will be his unequivocal starter for 2018. With the 35th pick -- the second of their two second-rounders -- the Browns selected Georgia running back Nick Chubb.


The decision not to trade Foles reflected the Eagles' immense regard for his abilities, which were showcased during the team's NFC championship game blowout of the Minnesota Vikings and again in the epic Super Bowl triumph over the Patriots. It was also based on the uncertainty regarding the status of third-year franchise quarterback Carson Wentz, who tore his ACL in a December victory over the Los Angeles Rams and theoretically might not be ready for the team's Sept. 6 regular season opener against the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field -- though the team is optimistic that Wentz will be able to meet that timeline.

It's also possible that Foles could still be sent elsewhere before the start of the 2018 season, or at any point up to the Tuesday, Oct. 30 trade deadline.

Two Septembers ago, five days after Vikings starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a severe knee injury in practice, the Eagles dealt starter Sam Bradford to Minnesota for first- and fourth-round picks -- a move that allowed Wentz, then a rookie, to ascend to the top of the depth chart just before the start of the regular season. If a similar scenario were to present itself this summer, the Eagles could possibly be open to parting with Foles, especially if they were offered a first-round pick in return.

It's also possible that Foles could be dealt shortly before the trade deadline, especially if Wentz has established that he is fully healthy. Last Oct. 30, the Patriots sent promising backup Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers for a second-round pick.

In the meantime, Foles remains the NFL's highest-profile backup quarterback -- a role with which he is clearly comfortable, given his preference that the Eagles reject the Browns' overtures.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000...ign=Twitter_atn

hmm, i'm not sure if I would have liked that trade

That's a pretty fair trade, but not worth it for a system QB, even if he won a Super Bowl.

I'm looking forward to Nick Chubb and his running game. Happy we got him at 35.. Stanton appears to be a good fit for the back up position. Seems all is well and pieces in place.

I guess I just posted this in another trade, but as was said by others. I'm happy we didn't make that trade.

I'm not the biggest Tyrod fan, but i'll take Tyrod for a 65th pick over Foles for a 35th pick.

Foles sucked it up with the Rams. He's had success with the Eagles, but recently it was short-term. Seems riskier than Taylor with the longer track record.

Twitter world is going crazy that the world knows about this.. Completely saying it was Hue that leaked it just because Silver brought it to light...


Guess every thing Silver says about Browns is due to Hue..

Mike Silver breaking the story, eh? Hmm. Loose lips, sink ships.

I prefer our current situation to having the alleged trade scenario realized.

Yeah, I think Taylor and Stanton will be better for Baker

Silver broke it, Florio gave him a jab about Hue and then the 2 of them went at it. Silver reckons 3 sources none of which were Hue.

It was probably Hue

Oh its definitely Hue with Silver haha

Oh, the drama!

I don't really care who leaked it or broke it. I'm just thinking of what the team would have looked like. Say we have Foles and Barkley instead of Baker and Chubb and the 3rd round qb we eventually spent on Taylor. I'd be okay w/that. I'm extremely disappointed at what the Browns did w/the 1st and 35th picks.

Hue has done some pretty crappy things through the media and we have easily connected past leaked info by Mike Silver to him, but I cannot imagine a situation where Hue would be that dumb to leak this info just before OTAs start. Not to mention the campaign by Dorsey to find out who was handing out info inside the organization by seeing what stories the media was running with in regards to who we were interested in with the #1 pick. Obviously, it was either from the Eagles or Browns organization, and I hope Silver got it from the Eagles.

The ONLY scenario where this could be plausible is if there is something else going on behind the scenes that we are not aware of and Hue is, yet again, trying to position himself accordingly through the media. However, there is nothing that would allude to any internal strife so far.

Edit: What is really odd (perhaps concerning) is while Mike Florio and Mike Silver are going at it on twitter on this topic, Scot McCloughan, part of our front office, is sending out weird tweets late at night in direct replies to their back and forth...I mean, just simply stay out of it, Scot.

This one also makes no sense ... NONE ...

I’m not sure who benefits and why by leaking it ... this sounds like some guys wanting to move up Silver’s sources ladder ...

I dunno ... that makes no sense either ... *L* ... i can’t figure out how this leak would aid anyone in a POWER STRUGGLE ...

I could CARE LESS who leaked it or why ... the BS is over .. its time to focus on getting ready for the season ...

GOOD LUCK HUE ... GO GET UM ... CAUSE WEATHER U LIKE HIM OR NOT ...

HES OUR HC ..

Why bother to leak it? More pointless drama. Nobody is better for this, and we have enough here to get after it.

Huey, stop it if it is you. We have real players here to discuss, not this tripe.

If it was someone from the Browns (and I'm leaning towards it coming from the Eagles), I think it warrants being concerned about on both the "who" and 'why". The timing of this is not ideal.

I have found new respect for the FO for trying this trade.

On the other hand, how completely displaced from reality you must be to think a 2nd round rookie Rb is worth a SB MVP.

Time to really re-assess your football knowledge... I would give Nick Chubb and Mayfield for Foles, and would come out of it thinking I fooled the Eagles.

Maybe it was just a matter of not inserting "j/c:" but I haven't made any of the those assertions.

Say what you will about Foles, but he was named the Superbowl MVP... I don't blame the Eagles for turning down the #35 pick.....

Nor do I. Who knows where Wentz is in regards to his recovery. And two, publicly stating you turned down an early 2nd rounder for a team in desperate need of an answer at QB says alot about their desire to keep Foles....which is why I lean towards the info being leaked by the Eagles than the Browns.

Probably right about the leaker... Not that it really matters....

The only group with anything to gain from this being leaked is the Eagles, and only if they are currently thinking about trading Foles.

This article lets them put it out there publicly that:
1. They are open to trading him
2. They will let Foles give his input on his destination (unless you make an offer too good to pass up)
3. you need to AT LEAST offer the #33 pick, or higher

it's always tough to assess a guy like Foles or Keenum; are they just lighting in a bottle/products of a system, or can they actually carry a franchise for an extended period?

Foles had some kind of contract with an out after this season. (which he has since redone for the Eagles)

I see no way that we would have passed on a QB if we had traded for him. I think that Mayfield was locked in, no matter what. The difference would have been no Tyrod Taylor ... and, of course, no #35 overall pick. (but we would have had our 3rd rounder)

As opposed to the QBs that win without a system?

I would have to agree that the only team that gains an advantage by letting this hit the press is the Eagles. It sends a clear message to the rest of the league That the asking price for Foles is most certainly a fist round pick. It's actually a great negotiation ploy on their part.

Exactly. But, there's not many QBs on the trade market who are worth a 2nd round pick whether or not they win in a system or not. If a QB is traded for a 2nd round pick, in my mind, it means that the QB is possibly good enough to be a starting QB, but he is not a sure-fire franchise QB. It'd make a lot more sense for a team just to draft a QB in the first round than trading for a QB. If you take this year for example, you could've got either AJ McCarron, Nick Foles, or Jimmy G for a 2nd round pick. That's a gigantic disparity in talent.

Unless your name is Jimmy Garoppolo.

Well we definitely had a plan, get a veteran QB not past their prime to start and WIN NOW!...Might have worked out better for us the way it did. We Got Chubb RB at #35. Neither QB was meant to be our Franchise QB and frankly I think Foles had an incredible playoff and SB run. But it speaks volumes that he chose to be a BACKUP rather than a starter.

In the long run I think the Eagles will be regretting not taking the trade.

Love the way things turned out for us whatever the reason. TT has proven he can start a complete season and has progressed nicely over the years. Foles looks great and then disappears, who knows. I think we tried to get him the first time around when he was leaving the Eagles...not sure but I'm pretty sure???

BM will be our starter anyways

Yep, I would've traded a top 10 pick for Jimmy, tbh. I really loved him and wanted the Browns to draft him or Teddy instead of Johnny. But even the 2nd round trade for Jimmy was weird, because it sounds like it was a closed auction with only one team bidding.

Goff sucked it up there under Fisher too!

Don't know how you can call Foles a system QB. He had a winning record under Kelly and won a SB under another coach/system.

Had we done this, the question is if we would have gone QB at 1 and instead gone Barklay.

So the question is what is better:
Tyrod, Mayfield and Grubb
Foles, Barklay and a project qb with that 3rd round pick.

It all depends on Mayfield's long-term career along with Grubb/Barklay.

Amazing how for some a SB MVP is not good enough for a 1-31 team... just amazing....

Foles and JG chose not to play for the Browns, I think that proves they are smart....

Foles was the SB MVP... when the Browns get one, they can talk about his quality, either way, Kudos to the FO and to Dorsey to try to sign him.

lol. First off. I never called Foles a system QB. All I was saying was that he had success with the Eagles between 2013 and 2014. After that, he made his playoff run on a team firing on all cylinders. He played six games this season. That's it.

Tyrod has been the starter for the past three seasons in Buffalo. Close to full seasons in each.


Me, I don't see Nick Foles as the long-term answer at QB. Not when we have the number 1 pick in our hands. Spending the first pick of the draft on Barkley would have been a big mistake IMO. This was our chance to select whoever we wanted at QB with some decent choices. I didn't like our choices at the time last year. I liked the ones this year much more. So I was going to be upset no matter what if we didn't take a QB (unless we signed Kirk Cousins)

So, the question for me is: Nick Foles, Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward, Austin Corvett, Chad Thomas and pick 65

or

Tyrod Taylor, Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward, Austin Corvett, Nick Chubb, Chad Thomas


I'll take the selection we did.

Besides, if Nick Foles doesn't want to come get a chance to start here, I don't think we want him. I prefer a guy that wants to play than one comfortable sitting on the bench.

Foles chose to continue being a backup in Philly instead of a starter for another NFL Team. That says enough for me right there.


As for SB MVP, Larry Brown of the Dallas Cowboys was SB MVP. How'd that work out for the next team who signed him?

We don't know if Foles is the backup... and even if he is, he will be for one year.

Signing with the Browns would be a career killer, so I can't blame him, I know I wouldn't in his case.

And I don't see the logic on us trading for the Super Bowl MVP, and then drafting a replacement....

AGREED!

You have a great point...he chose to stay put.

His logic was likely that his stock will never be higher than this time next year as a FA and if he went to Cleveland and it didn't go well, his stock would have dropped significantly.

It still is shocking he turned down a chance to start. Goes to show how low we are on the totem pole of the NFL.

Not sure that is a fair assessment.. He reworked his deal, can opt out after next season and become a FA and with guys like Brees, Big Ben, Tom Brady, Eli Manning and others nearing retirement, he might get a much better opportunity as a FA next year.. while (many) Browns fans are excited about our future, it's easy to understand why a guy who wants to be a long term starter at QB, might be a bit skeptical...

At the end of this season his stock will still be high, unless Wentz goes down and he comes back in and can't come close to playing at the level he did last year.

maybe he thinks he can beat wentz out of starting spot?

Solid point about the future player's retirements. But Foles is already 29. So I'd assume at least 30 next year.

I'd still prefer a guy who doesn't want to sit on the bench. I prefer a guy who wants to compete and get a chance to start, even if it's for a team that's been bad lately. Someone who wants to bet on themselves instead of taking the easy road and watching Carson Wentz another season

His extension was basically a reward for last season. It also includes incentives for games started/played this coming year, and has an "out" at year's end. (with, IIRC, a $1 million buyout on Foles's part)

You are hinting about him not being a competitor yet the guy has a Super Bowl ring as the starting QB.

j/c

I think the issue here is assuming the Browns wouldn't draft a QB @1 had we traded for Foles.

I look at it as if we'd have gotten Foles or Tyrod plus whatever QB we draft #1 which happened to be Mayfield. Mayfield would still have been the #1 pick by the Browns.

Some just like to read too much into things...


And personally I would rather have Taylor over Foles. Anyone who was about to retire and had to be persuaded to return gives me pause...

What's a Super Bowl Ring have to do with not wanting to compete for a starting job this year?

Agreed.

After Kirk Cousins, I didn't care what QB we ended up with, I wanted to drat a guy.


Last year, Mitch Trubisky was the top talent. I didn't think that he was a good enough QB to equal Myles Garrett. This year, I saw multiple talents that were better prospects than Mitch Trubisky. Rosen, Mayfield, and Darnold.

Since Tim Couch, we haven't had our choice at whichever QB we want (with a decent crop) till this year. I didn't want to miss on that opportunity.

And I sure as heck didn't want to miss on it for another team's cast-off

100% agree. (Minus the Cousins part)

I believe with a trade for Foles or Smith or Tyrod we were still going to take the top quarterback in this draft.

There is nothing to see here with this article about trading for Foles...except that it's a negative towards Taylor that he wasn't the Browns first choice.

Maybe the Browns leaked it to see how Tyrod will react. Who knows.

None of this sounds kosher. Why he would want to stay, why we would give up the pick. All of it sounds very strange.

He might not have to beat him out. As I understand it, there is no guarantee that Wentz is going to be ready to go at the beginning of the season.

His target date for return is literally opening day... if there is any setback at all, Foles could easily be your day 1 starter.. who knows from there. Foles run through the playoffs, comes out and lights it up in the first couple weeks... I mean, I know Wentz is really good and he's the future, but do you pull him at that point?

In a heartbeat ...

Foles limits there offense .... they “changed” it for him to accentuate what he does good and he can’t do near the things Wentz can do ...

Wentz has a shot to be one of the all time greats .. he could be beyond SPECIAL ...

U NEVER sit that ...

j/c:

Nick Foles says Browns trade scenario was never presented to him

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Nick Foles said Tuesday that the Browns' trade scenario was never presented to him.

"First I heard of it was when someone texted me asking if it was true,'' Foles told the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane. "Trade scenario never got to me, if true.''

NFL Media's Mike Silver reported that last week that the Browns offered the Eagles their No. 35 overall pick for Foles, the Super Bowl MVP, but they turned it down.

Silver reported that the Eagles ran the offer by Foles, who said he preferred to remain in Philadelphia. The Eagles subsequently restructured Foles contract, giving him a $2 million bonus which will enable him to earn up to $14 million this season.

After seeing McLane's report, Silver tweeted that he stands by his report.

Browns GM John Dorsey declined to comment on the report, saying he's excited to have Tyrod Taylor as his starter and that he can't comment on a player from another team.The Browns also tried to trade for former Chiefs QB Alex Smith before they aquired Taylor from the Bills for a third-round pick.

Foles will back up Carson Wentz as soon as Wentz is ready to return from the torn ACL he suffered in week 14. Foles stepped in and led the Eagles to a 41-33 Super Bowl victory over the Patriots, and earning MVP honors in the process.

At the NFL annual meeting in March, Eagles coach Doug Pederson said they didn't receive any offers that intrigued them.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2018/05/nick_foles_says_browns_trade_s.html

i dont think he has a very good source in the browns...

Not sure why this should matter to the fans and myself at all. A number of trades don't happen, deals don't get made or fall through. Might have been good for us.

The circumstances and handling of the issue seem kind of hinky, but not unknown in the NFL.
Being all mysterious and cloaked suggests hidden stuff.

Move along IMO. So what?

Play ball!

I completely agree w/you, but it's pretty obvious why it matters to certain posters. LOL

Yeah, from day one we knew Dorsey was looking to add a Veteran QB as we also knew that Dorsey was going to draft a QB at either #1 or #4, soon to be known we were going to draft at #1.

Did they make an offer, who know what, were we interested? I sure hope so he was a good option. I'm glad who we ended up with. As I mentioned if he turned it down and that is not true how are we to believe the other particulars.

And what does it really matter. We tried to get a veteran starting QB prior to the draft. If not Foles then TT. Its the smart thing to do.

jmho - Foles, TT they aren't going to be our Franchise QB we all know who that is.