Nick Foles

The Chicago Bears are reportedly willing to trade Nick Foles if a deal arises but won't move him to a situation where he's uncomfortable.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported the Bears plan to "listen" to offers ahead of Week 1 but are comfortable keeping him on the roster. Foles is slated to be the Bears' third-string quarterback behind Andy Dalton and Justin Fields.

The Bears are responsible for all of Foles' $4 million base salary this season, along with $1 million of his 2022 base salary. He is slated to be the NFL's most expensive third-string quarterback by a large margin; some teams don't even carry three quarterbacks, let alone ones with Foles' resume.

While it likely wouldn't take much for the Bears to part with Foles, there is also no obvious suitor. The Indianapolis Colts looked like a solid bet after Carson Wentz's foot injury, but he's recovering better than expected and could be available Week 1. 

"Listen, Frank Reich is one of my favorite, if not my favorite, coaches of all time. He understands me as a player," Foles told reporters earlier this month. "He understands me as a person. But you know, I haven't had any talks with them. I'm a Chicago Bear right now. But he knows me, he understands."

Every other quarterback situation around the NFL is essentially settled unless the Dallas Cowboys want some type of insurance for Dak Prescott's injured shoulder. Barring an injury, it appears likely the Bears will have to eat Foles' base salary and allow him to hold a clipboard all season before moving on next spring. 

The Chicago Bears have reportedly been happy with rookie quarterback Justin Fields' progression throughout training camp and they hope that translates to game action during Saturday's preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins.

"I'm told the Bears feel that Fields' command of the offense is improving every single day," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on SportsCenter. "They know he can make the athletic play, the spectacular play. They want to see tonight, him mastering the nuances of their offense."

Chicago head coach Matt Nagy confirmed Thursday the plan is for Fields to see quite a bit of action in his first NFL game. Projected starter Andy Dalton will handle the first drive or two followed by the Ohio State product for potentially upward of two quarters.

"I would say that for Justin, [he'll play] for sure past halftime," Nagy told reporters. "I hate to say that anything is 100 percent, but the mindset going into it is he's going to get a lot of reps. Does that take him into the fourth quarter? Maybe. Who knows? We'll see. But the more reps we can get him right now, the better. It's only going to help him."

Fields has drawn rave reviews throughout training camp for his ability to make something out of nothing, but it's the play-to-play consistency that tends to take a little longer to develop. It's the same learning curve the Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen, the No. 7 pick in 2018, faced early in his NFL career, and he just signed a massive six-year, $258 million extension.

It'll be intriguing to see how Fields, the No. 11 choice in this year's draft, will begin the process of trying to read and break down NFL defenses on the fly for the first time in game conditions Saturday.

Like Allen, the 22-year-old Georgia native has all the physical tools to succeed in the NFL, including the arm strength to make any throw and an ability to pick up key first downs with his legs. Maximizing that raw talent can take a couple of years, though.

Bears tight end Jimmy Graham sees another similarly styled dual-threat quarterback when he works alongside Fields: former Seattle Seahawks teammate Russell Wilson.

"I've got to get him matched up at some point with a guy up there in Seattle," Graham told reporters. "Especially, you know, the ability to make plays while you're running, I think he's going to have—it's been impressive to see him so young, so focused. And I can tell [you] it definitely reminds me a lot of Russell Wilson."

That's high praise for Fields, but it's not unwarranted after he tallied 78 total touchdowns (63 passing and 15 rushing) in 22 games across two years as the Buckeyes' starter.

Giving the two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection ample playing time throughout the three-game preseason slate should give the Bears a strong indication of how quickly he'll be ready to take over the offense.

Dalton, who owns an 87.5 career passer rating and ranked 25th in ESPN's Total QBR while playing with the Dallas Cowboys last season, is a solid short-term option but won't prevent Chicago from handing the keys over to the rookie once they feel he's ready.

After Saturday's clash with the Dolphins, the Bears face the Bills next Saturday and then wrap up the exhibition schedule Aug. 28 against the Tennessee Titans. They kick off the regular season Sept. 12 when they visit the Los Angeles Rams.

The Indianapolis Colts haven't made contact with Nick Foles despite the recent injury to Carson Wentz, but Foles appeared to be lobbying for a move Monday:

"Listen, Frank Reich is one of my favorite, if not favorite, coaches of all time," Foles said about the Colts head coach. "... I haven’t had any talks with them. I’m a Chicago Bear right now. But he knows me."

Reich coached both Wentz and Foles as offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles on the team's run to the Super Bowl. Foles won Super Bowl MVP in the win over the New England Patriots.

The Colts traded for Wentz in the offseason, but the quarterback is now sidelined with a foot injury that could keep him out up to 12 weeks, Reich told reporters Monday. It could provide an opening for Foles, who is third on the Bears' depth chart behind Andy Dalton and Justin Fields.

The 32-year-old tried to sell himself to the Colts and potentially other teams Monday."

The version of right now is the version of me that is much better than the one that played in the Super Bowl," Foles said.

The in-game production hasn't told the same story, unfortunately, with two bad years for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears leading to an uncertain future. Foles had just 2,588 passing yards with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions over 13 appearances in the last two seasons, producing an 81.8 rating. His teams went just 2-9 in his 11 starts and he was benched in favor of Gardner Minshew and Mitchell Trubisky.

Foles still has two more years remaining on his current contract and the Bears don't have many options for him. Per Spotrac, the veteran has a $6.67 million cap hit for 2021, but it would leave $11.67 million in dead cap if he is released (plus $2.67 million in 2022). 

A trade would be better for Chicago, leaving just $2.67 million in dead cap this year and next, but the Colts are yet to make a move.

Jacob Eason is currently projected to start for the Colts while Wentz is unavailable.

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy said Saturday he "absolutely" understands why quarterback Nick Foles' name popped up in trade rumors after the Indianapolis Colts' Carson Wentz suffered a foot injury.

"And you're talking about a Super Bowl MVP and a guy that's started a lot of games," Nagy told reporters. "He's had a really interesting career in so many ways that I just think that he deserves that. I mean, anybody that's had the career he has is somebody that's always going to be ... for all teams, as a third-string guy, teams are going to look at guys like him."

While the Colts await further information about the extent of Wentz's injury, they announced the signing of Brett Hundley to join a quarterback depth chart that also features Jacob Eason, Sam Ehlinger and Jalen Morton, who were expected to compete for the backup job in training camp.

The situation will become more pressing if Wentz will be sidelined for an extended period of time.

Foles, who led the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl LII title while replacing an injured Wentz during the 2017 season, opened Bears camp third on the depth chart behind Andy Dalton and rookie Justin Fields.

Nagy credited the 32-year-old Texas native for how he's handled the situation:

I would say probably 95 percent of people in Nick's situation would handle it completely opposite of the way he's handled it, from the time that I brought him in and told him that he was going be the third-string quarterback. And I have to give so much credit to him because he accepted it. He understood it. Was he happy about it? No. But he understood it. ... From the time we got to OTAs until now, we all talked about how impressed we are with how he's handled himself in that role.

Foles struggled across nine appearances (seven starts) for the Bears in 2020. He completed 64.7 percent of his throws for 1,852 yards with 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He ranked 32nd in ESPN's Total QBR and received a lackluster 66.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.

Yet, he'd represent an experienced option for the Colts, who are aiming to reach the playoffs for the third time in the past four seasons.

There's been no indication Indianapolis' front office has reached out to Chicago, but it's a trade that would make a lot of sense on paper given the Bears' crowded QB room—Foles is competing for playing time with rookie first-round pick Justin Fields and fellow veteran Andy Dalton—and the Colts' sudden need for veteran depth.

Indy is scheduled to open the preseason Aug. 15 when it hosts the Carolina Panthers.

Justin Fields understands the Chicago Bears traded up for the No. 11 pick in this year's draft to select him as the franchise quarterback of the future but not necessarily to be the starter his rookie season.

He's trying to stick to that plan even if fans around his new city aren't too keen on waiting for his time to come. 

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Fields admitted he's aware Bears supporters want him to start immediately but isn't letting that distract from what his coaching staff wants to see him do in 2021. 

Instead, Fields will serve as the backup to Andy Dalton with Nick Foles serving as third-string QB. Dalton signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Bears before the club selected the Ohio State product.

Fields added that Dalton has "completely" taken him under his wing, joining the veteran for family dinners and trying to soak up as much as he can from the former Cincinnati Bengals star. 

The rookie just understands the best thing he can show the organization is his ability to learn and develop from those trying to teach him. It's exactly what the coaching staff wants to see from him, too.

“There will be a process and a plan,” Bears head coach Matt Nagy told reporters Wednesday. “We will stick to that. That plan is not going to change tomorrow. The plan is not going to change in training camp. The plan is a plan and it’s been thought out.”

That plan, however, does come with some benchmarks the head coach isn't afraid to let the public in on. After helping coach a rookie Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City before taking the top job in Chicago, Nagy knows what to look for when college QBs make the leap to the NFL—even if the plan is to sit them as a rookie, like Mahomes did with Alex Smith running the Chiefs' offense. 

“I would say with Patrick at this point of time in vet minicamp to where Justin is, is great,” Nagy said. “Their personalities, football-wise, football IQ, all of that stuff is very similar on that side. Their actual personalities are a little bit different but that’s the beauty of life. We all have different personalities. I just think that right now for Justin, the biggest thing is to make sure that he’s continuing to just really listen and just get better, and then probably just keep asking the right questions, and I think he’s doing that more and more as he feels comfortable.”

Fields can't exactly stop fans from getting excited over his potential—or even tune it out in a town as QB-starved as Chicago—but that doesn't mean he can't enjoy the moment either. 

“I feel like there’s no reason not to embrace it," Fields said. 

The Chicago Bears are sticking to their plan of starting Andy Dalton at quarterback to begin the season, with head coach Matt Nagy announcing first-round pick Justin Fields will serve as QB2. 

Nick Foles will drop down to third string on the depth chart. 

The Bears traded up to select Fields with the No. 11 overall pick in April only weeks after signing the 33-year-old Dalton to a one-year, $10 million contract. Foles is entering his second season in Chicago after the Jacksonville Jaguars traded him to the Bears for a compensatory four-round pick last year. 

In seven games as a starter last year, Foles led to Chicago to a 2-5 record while passing for 1,852 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions overall for a 80.8 passer rating. Dalton wasn't much better for the Dallas Cowboys in 2020, passing for 2,170 yards, 14 touchdowns and eight picks for an 87.3 passer rating. 

Yet the Bears aren't willing to rush Fields into the huddle, choosing instead to have him learn from Dalton—who's reportedly been kept in the loop on all the plans involving the rookie.

"Matt [Nagy] has spoken to Andy Dalton tonight; that communication and clarity for us is really important," Bears general manager Ryan Pace said after drafting Fields. "Andy is our starter, and we’re gonna have a really good plan in place to develop Justin and do what’s best for our organization and win games."

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Dalton noted even before he signed with Chicago it was clear to him the team would be looking to draft a quarterback in 2021. 

"It is what it is," Dalton said. "Justin Fields is a great guy and Is going to make the QB room better."

Even those outside the QB room are already noticing the impact Fields has made on the franchise. Running back David Montgomery couldn't help but heap praise on the Ohio State product shortly after seeing him during OTAs.

"Justin Fields is a freakish athlete," Montgomery said. "He carries that leader mantra that you rarely see from rookies. He’s great. It's good to see him. He looks great out there."

The Bears may be Dalton's team for now, but the Fields era is coming sooner than later.