Report: Eagles were interested in signing Nick Foles before he joined the Colts

Was BDN close to a third stint in Philly?

The Philadelphia Eagles “were involved in Nick Foles’ free agency” before he ultimately signed with the Indianapolis Colts, according to a report from NFL insider Jeremy Fowler.

Interesting.

On one hand, The QB Factory never sleeps. The Birds are never not looking to address the most important position in all of sports.

On the other hand, the Eagles don’t exactly need another quarterback right now. They currently have four under contract: Jalen Hurts, Gardner Minshew, Reid Sinnett, and Carson Strong.

We previously touched on the possibility of a Foles reunion in Philly after the Chicago Bears released him earlier this month. Here’s what we said at the time:

But the Eagles could conceivably look to trade Minshew to a team still looking for QB help (Seattle? Carolina? Detroit?). Doing might net them a late Day 2 or early Day 3 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Eagles could then sign Foles to replace Minshew as QB2.

Some might wonder if bringing Foles back would be the best move as the Eagles try to see if they can build around Hurts. There’s thought that Foles’ presence could be a distraction. But Hurts — unlike a certain former Eagles quarterback — seems well-equipped to handle any threat of potential competion.

The bigger obstacle in bringing Foles back to Philly might not be from the Eagles’ side. It might be Foles who doesn’t want to return. Recall this article from last year:

Nick Foles had the chance to return to the team he won a Super Bowl with, and he apparently refused. According to NFL insider Tyler Dunne, the Chicago Bears were looking to move on from the veteran signal-caller after his none-too-impressive 2020 campaign — and the team had a particular trade partner in mind — but Foles didn’t want to return to the Philadelphia Eagles. “The Bears tried cleansing their hands of the Nick Foles mistake by trading Foles back to Philly. Foles didn’t want to go, one source says, so the Eagles refused to trade for a QB who wouldn’t report,” Dunne reported May 24.

Foles undoubtedly loved his time in Philly. He’ll forever be a hero here. But he might want to leave his Eagles legacy as is.

We also put up a poll gauging the interest in a Foles return:

The majority won out here. Foles is headed to team up with Frank Reich once again in Indy.

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UPDATE: Fowler notes that the Eagles’ interest in Foles was related to teams having interest in Minshew. Makes sense.