Is there a trade market for Nick Foles in 2020?

Throughout the bye week, we’re going to discuss some important questions surrounding the Jacksonville Jaguars with the help of John Shipley over at JaguarMaven.

As we discussed yesterday, the end result of having Gardner Minshew or Nick Foles in at quarterback isn’t a very big difference. This team likely hovers between 7-9 or 8-8 by season’s end regardless of who’s under center. If that’s the case, why wouldn’t you look to go all in with Minshew after this season and see if there’s a team you can trade Foles to? That would clear up a lot of salary cap room as well as firmly establish Minshew as your long-term solution at quarterback.

But it takes two to tango. Who could want Foles (and that huge contract) next spring?

Is there a trade market for Nick Foles in 2020?

Ryan Day: Who’s going to be willing to take on that contract? The New York Jets? The Chicago Bears? The Miami Dolphins? Would any of them want to take a swing on Foles?

John Shipley: Matt Nagy needs his Alex Smith and Mitsubishi is not it at all. Bears have dealt a lot of picks under Ryan Pace, so I can see it happening again.

Ryan Day: If the team were to run it back in 2020 and keep the same front office, what’s the likelihood that Foles is the starter for Week 1 next year? Given both of our projections, it doesn’t seem there is much of a difference between what Minshew gives you (4 wins in 8 starts) and Foles gives you (4 wins in 8 starts).

John Shipley: I think the most likely possibility in that scenario is they let Minshew see some reps with the starters during training camp but Foles would still be the unquestioned starter. Minshew played very well during his peak performances but it is unlikely he did it often enough to dissuade the Jaguars from their commitment to Foles.

Ryan Day: Is the team more likely to trade Foles if this is a new front office in Jacksonville after the season? Do you think Minshew showed enough this season to persuade a new general manager to try and deal Foles and use the recouped salary cap room to build around him? Again, I don’t really think Foles gives you anything record-wise that’s better than 4-5 at this point and I don’t think he’s winning more than four to close out the season, so you look at other benefits -- like freeing up a ton of salary cap to spend on other positions -- as the tiebreaker.

John Shipley: I’m not sure, but you’d think it couldn’t be any less likely considering a new regime wouldn’t have any ties to him. They’d still have to deal with his contract, but ultimately they could look at the situation from a fresh perspective. If Minshew was given the rest of the season to start, I feel like it’d be even easier to answer the question of if he’s done enough. He’s definitely shown that you can win with him, but there’s almost still a bit of an unknown when it comes to him. 8 starts just isn’t a sample size.

Ryan Day: What percentage would you put at the Jaguars keeping Tom Coughlin and Dave Caldwell over firing them?

John Shipley: I think a lot of factors go into those. For instance, how Nick Foles and the team overall perform over the next seven games may mean a lot. The hope is that with the investment in the position, the Jaguars can go on a bit of a run and at least be in the playoff picture. Whether that happens would strongly help determine if there is any shakeup with the team, but it’s hard to gauge it right now.

Part 1: Who should the Jaguars have named their starting quarterback?

Part 2: Let’s predict some win-loss records with either quarterback!

Part 3: Is there a trade market for Nick Foles in 2020?

You can follow John Shipley at @_John_Shipley and read his work on Sports Illustrated’s JaguarMaven.