Chicago Bears QB3: Nick Foles knows there is trade chatter out there, but ‘I don’t want to just go somewhere where I don’t know them, know the offense’

If the Chicago Bears are going to take trade calls regarding Nick Foles, he’d love to have input on that. And if they’re going to move him, he’d prefer to go somewhere he has relationships with those running the show.

If the Bears do get calls and if they do take into account Foles’ wishes, they could be ruling out potential destinations, considering he said, “I don’t want to go to someone I don’t know.”

Speaking after Monday’s training camp practice at Halas Hall for the first time since he was injured in the Week 10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings last November, Foles acknowledged he’s heard some of the chatter about the possibility of the Bears trading their No. 3 quarterback.

“I know there’s a lot of talks out there,” Foles said. “Trust me, I hear it, I see it. But at the end of the day, that creates clutter in my mind because I still have to go out here and I have to practice. I go out there with the three group, and I always tell those guys: ‘I don’t care what the frickin’ coverage is or if you think you’re dead on a route, I’m feeling it right now so be ready. I can fit it in anything.’ And I feel that.”

The notion the Bears could move Foles for a late-round draft pick and unload the $4 million in guaranteed base salary he has for this season picked up steam with news that Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz will miss five to 12 weeks after undergoing foot surgery. The Bears already paid Foles a $4 million roster bonus this year, but he’s buried on the depth chart and flipping him could net the team a Day 3 pick and free up some cap space.

Foles has a tremendous relationship with Colts coach Frank Reich — and he talked extensively about that — but it’s worth wondering if the Wentz/Foles dynamic would work again. The timeline for Wentz’s recovery is pretty wide, and if it turns out to be on the shorter side, the Colts are less likely to make a move.

“Frank Reich is one of my favorite, if not favorite coaches of all-time,” Foles said. “He understands me as a player. He understands me as a person. But I haven’t had any talks with them.

“Y’all watched the 2017 season and the playoffs where he changed the offense and built it around me, and y’all saw what happened. So, he understood my mentality as a player. But that being said, they have Carson. And Carson and I have a lot of history. I have a lot of respect for Carson, he’s a tremendous player. He’s going through adversity once again, but he’ll bounce back and he might miss a few games, but I know he’ll be back out there. But, we haven’t had any talks so right now. I’m a Chicago Bear and I’m gonna keep slinging it with these third-stringers and we’re gonna dice ‘em up.”

Coach Matt Nagy said Saturday that he “absolutely” believes other teams will call the Bears about Foles before the start of the season considering the QB’s history, which includes that historic playoff run with the Philadelphia Eagles that culminated in Foles being named Super Bowl LII MVP.

But Foles is 2-9 as a starter over the last two seasons with the Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars — and the film isn’t pretty. He said it’s not the time to discuss why things were so rocky last year after he came off the bench to rally the Bears for a Week 3 victory at Atlanta.

“There’s a lot of reasons that I can’t talk about to be honest with you,” said Foles, who was wise not to criticize the offensive line that struggled. “It’s one thing to create something, it’s another thing to know when not to speak about something and this isn’t the right time or place to speak about it.

“There was a lot of reflecting. A lot of just getting back and keeping things simple and working hard, enjoying the family and understanding, ‘You know what, I know who I am as a player and a person and that is the most important thing.’ And trials teach us a lot about ourselves and we grow through them. And last year, last couple seasons haven’t been the easiest but I’m still here. I feel the best I’ve felt. I’ve had a great offseason, putting in the work every single day to where coming into training camp I feel great. I feel the strongest I’ve felt. I took something that could have defeated some people and made it a positive. Still here, still working.”

Foles has never — third on a depth chart. His reps are limited in practice, but he’s making hay against the third team secondary and knows he can help players down on the depth chart make plays. Nagy has credited him for his approach and for the time being, Foles is going to do his best in his current role while wondering if something else will pop up.

“I don’t want to just go somewhere where I don’t know them, I don’t know the offense,” he said. “I’ve gone done that road before and it’s not fun. There are plenty of quarterbacks that go down that road. You’ve got to be in something that you know, something that you’re comfortable with, so you can pull that trigger as fast as you can.

“If all of a sudden you’re out there in a game and you’re thinking through things, it’s too slow. The NFL’s too fast. You have to be able to just let it rip. That’s what I look for. So, absolutely, I don’t want to just be traded to someone I don’t know and, ‘Oh, you get an opportunity to play.’ No, I want to be able to go somewhere where I know we’ll be successful because I know the people in there, I know what they stand for, I know who they are as human beings. That’s what you want. That’s what great teams are made of.”

That’s what the Colts could potentially offer if Indianapolis calls the Bears. If not, there might not be a landing place for Foles. He might just be the third option for the team that was hoping he would be the answer a year ago.

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