Nick Foles Should Be No. 1 on Patriots' Short List of Veteran QBs They Could Trade For

A new veteran QB is reportedly on the trade market, which means the Patriots should be adding him to their list of potential replacements for Tom Brady.

With the free agency window set to open up 16 days from now, the New England Patriots have likely already drafted up a list of potential options at the quarterback position in the event that Tom Brady decides to sign elsewhere. 

One category on that list is potential trade options, which could include players like Andy Dalton, Derek Carr, or Jacoby Brissett. But as of Monday, the Patriots will surely be adding one more name to the top of that category: Nick Foles. 

ESPN's Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler reported on Monday that the Jaguars would like to move forward with Gardner Minshew II as their starting QB, and, ideally, find a trade partner for Foles. If that is in fact true, then New England should be placing a call to Jacksonville's front office yesterday to inquire about their asking price for the veteran. 

Foles is known all too well in New England. He was the starting quarterback for Philadelphia in Super Bowl LII when the Eagles beat the Patriots 41-33. Foles was the Super Bowl MVP for that game, as he threw 373 yards, three touchdowns, and also caught a touchdown from the infamous "Philly Special" play design. That game proved one thing about Foles: the stage is never too big for him. That's the same reason why the Patriots should aggressively pursue his services in the event that Brady decides to depart New England, and if they aren't convinced Jarrett Stidham should be the starter moving forward. 

Now, let's first talk about what the Patriots would have to give up in order to obtain the veteran QB. Based on what Graziano and Fowler reported, the team is willingly looking to shop Foles because A) He won't be their starting QB B) His salary is quite large for a backup. Because of that and because of his lack of production outside of the 2013 season and 2017 postseason, the ceiling to trade for Foles is a second round pick. However, given how saturated the free-agent quarterback market is expected to be, a third round pick should do the trick. 

Next up is how Foles' contract would fit under New England's salary cap if they were to trade for him. Unfortunately, just like pretty much any transaction any team wants to make right now, New England wouldn't want to make this move until a new CBA is ratified. Because of Foles' cap hits for the next three seasons ($22.1 million in 2020, $26.8 million in 2021, $27 million in 2022) the 30 percent rule would hamper the Patriots from restructuring his contract. I seriously doubt they want to absorb that kind of cap hit for the 2020 season considering how much cap space they have to work with this offseason ($29.060, according to BSJ's Miguel Benzan), so making a move for him right now doesn't make sense from New England's perspective. 

If all the "ifs" fall in line for the Patriots to want to make this move (if the CBA get ratified, if Brady leaves, and if they want to trade for a veteran QB) Foles should be the No. 1 target for them. So throw away your biases about the butt whooping he handed New England in SBLII, because he very soon could be wearing red, white, and blue.