By Andrew Porter
PHILADELPHIA (WIP Sportsradio) — Nick Foles is free.
Howie Roseman addressed the media at the NFL Scouting Combine Wednesday and announced that the Eagles will not franchise tag Foles, letting him become a free agent.
"We've been so fortunate over the last couple of years to have two top 15 quarterbacks in Carson (Wentz) and Nick," Roseman said. "We've spent a lot of time discussing this internally and with him, and we have decided to let Nick become a free agent."
We will always be grateful for what Nick Foles has done for us here in Philadelphia, and we truly wish him the best wherever he goes. @NickFoles #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/5PFzZJssEY
— Howie Roseman (@HowieRoseman) February 27, 2019 — Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) February 27, 2019The window for NFL teams to place the franchise tag on players closes on March 5. The franchise tag is expected to be around $25 million for quarterbacks.
There was plenty of risk in franchising Foles. If the Eagles did tag Foles, and he signed it, the $25 million becomes fully guaranteed. That means the Eagles would be unable to remove it from their salary cap and would be committing $25 million to him as the backup to Wentz.
The possible destinations for Foles — the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl LII — have decreased, so tagging and trading him became increasingly more difficult.
Jacksonville and Miami are two potential landing spots for Foles in free agency.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) February 27, 2019Foles joins a long list of projected unrestricted free agents, including running back Jay Ajayi, cornerback Ronald Darby, defensive end Brandon Graham, safety Corey Graham, middle linebacker Jordan Hicks, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, running back Darren Sproles, wide receiver Golden Tate, and guard Chance Warmack, among others.
