Bears finalize trade with Jaguars for quarterback Foles
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears finalized a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for 2018 Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles on Tuesday.
The Bears are banking on Foles — the backup quarterback who helped Philadelphia win a Super Bowl — to bounce back from an injury-riddled season with Jacksonville and at least give them another option if Mitchell Trubisky struggles again or gets hurt next year. Chicago sent a 2020 compensatory fourth-round draft pick to Jacksonville in the trade agreed to two weeks ago.
The Jaguars parted with the 31-year-old Foles just over a year after signing him to a four-year, $88 million contract that included $50.125 million guaranteed. He broke his left collarbone early in the season opener, missed the next eight games and got benched in his third game back.
Rookie Gardner Minshew played well enough in his absence to make Foles expendable.
Trubisky’s yards (3,138), completion rate (63.2%), touchdowns (17) and rating (83) were all down from the previous year. The Bears’ offense ranked among the worst in the NFL, and Chicago missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record after winning the NFC North at 12-4 in 2018.
The Bears also re-signed safety DeAndre Houston-Carson to a one-year contract on Tuesday.
Houston-Carson has played primarily on special teams since the Bears drafted him out of William & Mary in the sixth round in 2016. He appeared in all 16 games last season for the first time.