It’s not too early to ask: Is Foles the answer to the Bears’ QB problem?
Finding comparisons for players and projecting what lies ahead drives conversations, whether they’re logical matches or dream casting.
Mitch Trubisky was compared to Ryan Tannehill and Alex Smith before the 2017 NFL draft, primarily because of his ability to run. Tannehill rebooted his career last season with the Tennessee Titans, and Smith’s career took off in Kansas City, where he forged a close relationship with quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy.
After the Bears traded up for Trubisky to select him No. 2 in 2017, some were desperate to create parallels between him and … Drew Brees, who had 66,111 career yards entering Trubisky’s rookie season. It was an unimaginable stretch made with the idea that general manager Ryan Pace drafted Trubisky and had Saints ties to Brees.
One day, perhaps Trubisky’s career will benefit from a change of scenery, as Tannehill and Smith experienced. Trubisky certainly is unlikely to be with the Bears in 2021, and a fresh start elsewhere is something he ultimately should deem a positive.
Coming up with similarities for Nick Foles is more difficult. Apples-to-oranges comparisons are even tough to make for the 31-yearold who is on his fifth team and will make his first start for the Bears on Sunday against the Colts at Soldier Field.
Foles has 48 career regular-season starts, four more than Trubisky, the total of what would span three seasons. He was the MVP of Super Bowl LII and has a 4-2 record as a starter in postseason, including a victory over the Bears in the wild-card round following the 2018 season. But he has been unable to hold down a No. 1 job for an extended period. The Jaguars made Foles the highest-paid free agent in 2019 but wound up benching him for rookie Gardner Minshew after Foles suffered a broken left clavicle. The injury sidelined him for eight games, and he struggled upon his return.
Foles never has started more than nine consecutive regular-season games, and the most starts he has had in any season was 11 in 2015 with the Rams, a disastrous season that nearly led him to retirement. Because it’s the Bears — and the search for a franchise quarterback is never-ending — it’s only natural to wonder what the chances are that the nineyear veteran stabilizes the position.
“You see it now, the age of these quarterbacks that are taking such great care of their bodies in the offseason, and Nick is one of those guys,” Nagy said. “The nutrition that he takes, he trains in the offseason, it allows these guys to play longer. I definitely think he is one of those guys that falls into that category.
“Different teams and different roles, (I think) he would be the first to tell you that it’s ultimately made him a much better quarterback than he was as a rookie or second-year guy. You’ve got a rookie in 2012 who ends up playing some, and then you’ve got a secondyear guy in 2013 that breaks the NFL record for touchdowns in a game. He’s a much different quarterback now than he was in 2013. He also in Jacksonville had a really good training camp and ended up unfortunately getting hurt, and then never came back. … He’s excited about this opportunity and he knows things happen. But I definitely think being 31 is by no means old.”
For Foles to break through and become a long-term solution, he needs to shed the tag of being the ultimate backup — which will require him to stay healthy because injuries consistently have derailed him.
■ A broken right hand ended his rookie season in Week 16 of his rookie season.
■ A concussion sent Foles to the bench during his electric 2013 season with Chip Kelly in Philadelphia, when he fired 27 touchdown passes with only two interceptions.
■ A broken left collarbone against the Texans ended his 2014 season.
■ The left clavicle injury, which occurred after a deep touchdown pass to D.J. Chark in the season opener, quickly gave the Jaguars a case of buyer’s remorse in 2019.
“That’s simple,” a veteran pro scout said when asked why Foles has not been able to stick as a starter. “When he stays healthy, he’s able to play. Look over the course of his career, when he’s had a chance to start, he’s balled out. To me, it’s always been about Nick’s health. It’s never been about his ability. Why do you think Jacksonville gave him that money? If the Bears can keep him healthy, he’s going to be good. He can galvanize a team.”
The Bears have Foles under contract through the 2022 season, and he has the opportunity to run with the job. The Bears don’t have a draft pick like Carson Wentz was at the time with the Eagles waiting to retake the job. They don’t have an unknown rookie like Minshew with the Jaguars a year ago. Foles can chart his own course, and he has the benefit of the Bears carrying a 3-0 record into the game Sunday. They’ve created a little cushion for themselves for what will be a seven-team field in the NFC playoffs.
Not everyone is sold on Foles ultimately ending — at least for a good period of time — the quarterback hunt that consumes Halas Hall.
“The guy has had plenty of opportunities,” another personnel man said of Foles. “At times, he’s just inconsistent. He doesn’t have upper-tier arm talent. He’s not mobile. He’s a pocket thrower who has to be schemed. He will be aggressive with the ball. He will take chances. The best offenses he’s been in are Chip Kelly’s RPO offense and Doug Pederson’s offense during the run to the Super Bowl, where they schemed around Foles specifically and added more RPOs, more play action. They had him working out of the shotgun more and they were getting the ball out of his hands. He’s at his best when that ball comes out quick because when it doesn’t, his mobility comes into play, and he starts forcing the ball a little bit.
“I know quarterbacks age differently now, but his prime years are gone. Long answer, if you’re asking me, no, he’s not the solution for the Bears. But who knows? Maybe Matt Nagy can unlock that special in him like Doug did. Me? I think he’s a bridge to something. I don’t know what it is. I’m not saying he can’t be the guy there for three years, maybe four. He’s got to stay healthy. When has he done that?”
Given Foles’ familiarity with the offense, which was on full display in the 20-point rally during the fourth quarter Sunday in Atlanta, an adjustment period won’t be needed for the change. With more than three-quarters of the season remaining, he has plenty of time to show what he can do.
There’s no need to wonder about player comps. It’s all about how Foles plays.