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NFL Rumors: Los Angeles Rams Want To Trade Nick Foles, Six Potential Landing Spots?

By Daniel Benjamin
Published on: 05:54 PST, Jun 7, 2016

Quarterback Nick Foles is not happy with the Los Angeles Rams.

Foles, as previously reported by the Inquisitr, is currently sitting out the Rams OTA’s to show his displeasure with the franchise for moving up in the draft and taking Jared Goff with the No. 1 overall pick. Los Angeles also re-signed restricted free agent Case Keenum.

Rams head coach Jeff Fisher addressed Foles’ situation earlier this month.

“I’ve had conversations with Nick and we’re on the same page. And we’re trying to work things out. We’re in the process of sorting things out with Nick. It has nothing to do with him not wanting to come in and compete at all. He’s very, very competitive. We appreciate everything he did for us and his leadership (and) his teammates miss him.”

Apparently, in their attempts to sort things out, the Rams have decided to seek a trade for Foles prior to the season, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report. Los Angeles has already paid him his $6 million roster roster bonus, meaning any team that acquires the five-year veteran will only owe him $1.75 million the rest of the year.

Los Angeles also has second-year quarterback Sean Mannion on the roster and just signed quarterback Dylan Thompson on Monday. Thompson went undrafted out of South Carolina in 2014 and spent last season on the San Francisco 49ers practice squad.

Foles, who the Rams acquired in the trade from the Philadelphia Eagles for Sam Bradford, started the first 11 games for the team last year. The 27-year-old got off to a sterling start last season, leading the Rams to a 34-31 overtime victory over the Seahawks, throwing for 297 yards and one touchdown as he completed 18-of-27 passes. Foles’ deep pass to Stedman Bailey for 22 yards help set up the game-winning field goal.

Foles led the Rams to a 4-3 record over the first eight weeks of the season. However, he was benched in favor of Keenum after the offense sputtered Week 9 through Week 12 resulting in four consecutive losses by the Rams. During the 0-4 stretch, the Rams averaged just over 10 points a game as Foles threw five interceptions and no touchdowns.

Foles only threw for at least 200 yards three times last year. For the season, he accumulated 2,052 yards via the air and tossed seven touchdowns along with 10 interceptions.

Foles is a big quarterback, standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing 240 pounds, with a strong arm. He is decently accurate as a passer and does possess the ability to scramble but by no means is fast. Foles has completed 60 percent of his passes for 8,805 yards with 53 touchdowns and 27 interceptions for his career.

The question is where could Foles possibly land?

The New York Jets immediately come to mind as they are currently haggling with free agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick over money. With Fitzpatrick’s status uncertain, the Jets quarterback situation is a bit muddled with Geno Smith along with Bryce Petty and 2016 draft selection Christian Hackenberg currently on the depth chart. Cole said that the Rams have not heard from the Jets regarding Foles.

Benjamin Allbright of CBS Sports believes that Foles could ultimately end up in San Francisco or Arizona.

Carson Palmer, 36, is entrenched as the Cardinals starter, but he is not going to be able to play forever. Drew Stanton is still on Arizona’s roster and is a career backup, as is Matt Barkley.

Stanton, 32, struggled last year filling in for Palmer, completing just 44 percent of his passes (11-for-25) for 104 yards and two interceptions. For his career, Stanton has thrown more interceptions (16) than touchdowns (12).

Jess Root of SB Nation thinks that Foles is a better option than Barkley, so the Cards could be interested.

Foles played under San Francisco boss Chip Kelly in Philadelphia, and the 49ers have been looking to exile Colin Kaepernick since the end of last season. Blaine Gabbert is currently slated to start for the 49ers, who also have Thaddeus Lewis and 2016 sixth round draft choice Jeff Driskel on the roster.

The Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, and Denver Broncos also could be good landing spots for Foles, according to Rant Sports.

Indianapolis recently signed Scott Tolzien to backup Andrew Luck, and the only other quarterback on the roster is first-year pro Stephen Morris. Tolzien was with the Green Bay Packers last year, and has appeared in just six games despite having six years of NFL experience. The 28-year-old has completed 56-of-91 career passes (61.5 percent) for 721 yards and has thrown one touchdown pass compared to five interceptions.

Mark Sanchez is currently sitting atop Denver’s quarterback depth chart, with Trevor Siemian being the backup. Rookie Paxton Lynch is slated to take over the starting eventually, but likely won’t play much this year.

Alex Smith is the unquestioned starter in Kansas City, but the Chiefs have no experienced backups. Aaron Murray and Tyler Bray has been in the NFL for three seasons, but neither one has yet to throw an NFL pass. KC also drafted Kevin Hogan in the fifth round of the 2016 draft. Head coach Andy Reid was in Philadelphia during Foles’ rookie campaign.

[Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez]

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