Report: Eagles are expected to exercise Nick Foles' option; then what?

NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport said Saturday that the Eagles “are expected to" exercise their $20 million contract option on quarterback Nick Foles for 2019.

It wasn’t clear whether Rapoport was speaking from knowledge of the Eagles' plans or reporting what other NFL sources think is most likely.

There seems to be little reason the Eagles wouldn’t exercise the option. If they don’t do so by Feb. 10, he becomes a free agent. If they exercise the option, Foles can still become a free agent by paying back $2 million of his signing bonus.

Either way, the Eagles would be in line for a compensatory draft pick next year; if they don’t pick up the option, they are just out $2 million that they explicitly negotiated for when they redid Foles' contract following last year’s Super Bowl triumph. Foles has five days after the Eagles exercise their option to decide what to do.

The Eagles could pick up the option and try to trade Foles. Presumably, he would have to agree on a destination, and agree to not pay the $2 million to buy his freedom. A trade partner would then have Foles under contract for $20 million, as a basis for talks on an extended deal.

If Foles bought his freedom, the Eagles could still franchise-tag him for as much as $25 million. They would have a lot of trouble getting under the projected $190 million salary cap with Foles at $20 million or $23 million, and other teams might just wait them out.

In any case, Carson Wentz seems set to be the Eagles quarterback in 2019, and Foles will head elsewhere. The Eagles will either get something for him right now, or they will get a 2020 compensatory pick -- unless they sign a really pricey free agent who offsets the loss of Foles.