The Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl champions, but they have some tough decisions to make ahead. The team has two really good quarterbacks on their roster right now, and one of them is a Super Bowl MVP. However, Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles will most likely not be the starting quarterback for the Eagles next season, which may be puzzling to some people, but it is not that shocking to me. Even though it is clear that Nick Foles should be a starting quarterback in this league and he is clearly a great quarterback that was misused by one of the most overrated coaches in the NFL (Jeff Fisher), this is Carson Wentz’s team.
Wentz was the number two overall pick in the NFL draft, and he is clearly the future quarterback for the Eagles. Before his season-ending injury, Wentz threw for 3,926 yards and 33 touchdowns against just seven interceptions. Wentz accumulated these stats through only 13 games, and the team was also 11-2 at this time. Carson Wentz is also only 25 years old right now, compared to Nick Foles who is 29. If Wentz never got hurt, the Eagles would have definitely been the favorite to make it to the Super Bowl in the NFC, but we will never know if the Eagles would have actually won the Super Bowl. We do know that Foles was able to do this, and he played phenomenally well during this playoff run.
Then there is also the question of whether or not Wentz will be healthy enough to play for the Eagles in week one of the regular season. The Eagles could keep Foles just in case Wentz is not ready to play at the start of the season, but this could decrease Foles’ trade value if he is not traded before the season starts. Right now, Foles’ trade value is through the roof because of his quarterback play during the playoffs. During this three-game playoff run, Foles had passer ratings of 100.1, 141.4, and 106.1. If the Eagles were to trade Foles now, they would definitely receive some good offers that would make this team significantly better. However, then the Eagles run the risk of having to start another quarterback if Wentz is not ready to play at the start of the season. This is a pretty difficult situation for a team that just won the Super Bowl.
If I were Doug Pederson, I would trust that Wentz is the quarterback of the future for this team, and I would trade Foles this offseason. Yes, it is a risk, but if the Eagles do keep both quarterbacks, I think that this will definitely hurt Wentz’s progression as a quarterback if he knows that he could potentially lose his starting job if he makes a couple of mistakes. Trading Foles would help Wentz’s psyche and I think that it would benefit the Eagles in the long-run.
Yes, the Eagles could shock everyone and choose to go with Foles from here on out and trade Wentz, but I do not see the Eagles doing this. Although Foles definitely played amazing during the playoffs, at the end of the regular season, Foles did not look like a reliable starting quarterback. Health issues aside, with Carson Wentz, it is clear that he will play well on a consistent basis, and as long as he can stay healthy (I know that this is a huge concern), the Eagles should be a Super Bowl contender for many years to come.
Even though these are issues that the Eagles will have to deal with relatively soon, right now they should just enjoy being Super Bowl champions. After all, beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl is no easy task, just ask the Falcons (sorry I had to say it).
