4 Takeaways From the Nick Foles Trade: What Does It Mean for Gardner Minshew and the Jaguars?
The Nick Foles era in Jacksonville has ended after one season after the Jaguars traded the veteran quarterback to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a 2020 fourth-round draft selection.
Four starts, 117 passes, and three touchdowns. That is the lasting impact Foles made on the field in his lone season in Jacksonville, and now the Jaguars will be moving into 2020 without the former Super Bowl MVP on their roster.
Trading Foles is a massive move for the Jaguars considering the ramifications of the trade, as well as because of the fact they are moving on from his contract so quickly, and a ripple effect will be felt throughout the roster because of it.
The trade won't be official until the new league year begins and Foles passes an official physical with the Bears, but for now, there are still a few things about the Jaguars and their direction for 2020 that have become clear.
From what the Jaguars' plans are for Gardner Minshew II, to how general manager Dave Caldwell and head coach Doug Marrone are choosing to attack the offseason, here are our takeaways from the latest Jaguars' blockbuster trade.
1) It is clearly Minshew Mania time in 2020
The Jaguars' brass had long taken the public stance of advocating for a quarterback competition between Foles and Minshew, but every sign pointed to Minshew having the leg up in the battle. As the Foles trade has proved, this was far from just signs and connecting the dots.
Minshew was likely entering the 2020 season as the Jaguars' starting quarterback regardless of what happened with Foles, but it has now become crystal clear who the Jaguars have favored at quarterback. Minshew presents a cheaper and younger option compared to Foles, but he also had much more success with the Jaguars in 2019 than Foles did, something that likely played a big part in Caldwell and Marrone's decision to trade Foles.
With Foles out of the picture, Minshew will enter the offseason activities as the unquestioned starter at quarterback. Josh Dobbs, who the Jaguars traded for from the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a 2020 fifth-round selection, is positioned to be Minshew's backup, and he has the support of Marrone and Caldwell.
It was always a probability that 2020 would be another year of Minshew Mania. Now, it is a certainty.
2) The Jaguars got the best possible outcome out of a bad situation
The Jaguars have had a tendency to get themselves in bad situations as of late. From the disgruntlement of cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the debacle that the Foles deal became, Jacksonville's front office has had to put out their fair share of fires in recent months.
But much like with the Ramsey situation, the Jaguars took bad circumstances and made the best of them.
Jacksonville got two first-round draft picks and a 2021 day three pick in exchange for Ramsey despite having little leverage and Ramsey essentially forcing his way out. Now, they get a fourth-round pick for Foles and unload any financial commitment to him past 2021.
Jacksonville having to pay more than $18 million in dead cap is obviously not ideal, but they are now freed from the massive financial commitment that would have been the rest of the Foles' contract.
Signing Foles to such a massive deal was a mistake to begin with. It was a high-risk move that never felt like it would pay off, even when looking at it from the most optimistic of angles. But at least the Jaguars have gotten something in return for the situation instead of continuing to hold onto a sunk cost.
3) Dave Caldwell and Doug Marrone are committed to a full-on youth movement for 2020
Jacksonville may say they are in a win-now mode, but every move they have made in the past month indicates they are prepared for a youth movement in 2020.
In the last month, the Jaguars have traded or parted ways with Calais Campbell (33), Foles (31), Marcell Dareus (30), and A.J. Bouye (28). In corresponding moves, the Jaguars have stockpiled draft picks, essentially handed the 23-year-old Minshew the starting quarterback job, and signed 26-year-old linebacker Joe Schobert.
The oldest starter on the Jaguars' roster? Cornerback D.J. Hayden, who is 29. The oldest player overall? Reserve offensive lineman Ben Ijalana, who is 30.
The Jaguars may state they are looking at 2020 as a must-win season, but that would indicate keeping veterans who are seasoned. Instead, the Jaguars are set up to field one of the youngest rosters in the NFL next season, with 12 potential draft picks set to join it. Marrone and Caldwell likely still need to win games to keep their jobs, but they are going to try to win those games with a youthful roster.
4) Jacksonville is doing its best to shed the mistakes of the Tom Coughlin era
A year ago, the Jaguars handed Foles a massive contract that indicated they saw him as not only the franchise quarterback of 2019 but as the long-term future at the position. Now, the Jaguars have valued him at only a fourth-round pick. So what changed?
For starters, former executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin is no longer calling the shots for Jacksonville. Coughlin was the leading voice of the front office when the Jaguars signed Foles, so it stands to reason that he was a driving force behind the decision.
Coughlin was fired by owner Shad Khan last December, and now Foles is dealt for a mid-round selection. That could be a coincidence, but it could also signal the Jaguars are now trying to put the recent Coughlin era behind them and try to fix some of the mistakes he made while making the team's personnel decisions.
Coughlin was a huge advocate for Foles, both before and during the season. When he left TIAA Bank Field, Foles lost perhaps his biggest advocate in Jacksonville. As a result of a reshaped organizational structure that no longer included Coughlin, it appears the Jaguars were more willing to move on from the veteran passer than many presumed they would have been.
