The St. Louis Rams punted on former No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford in favor of former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles earlier this offseason. Although Foles was coming off an injury of his own (plus a mediocre half season of play) his overall health record was significantly less spotted than Bradford's. Rams head coach Jeff Fisher is hoping that Foles can bring some much needed stability under center for a team that is desperate to field a winner.
But just because Foles is the new starter does not mean all questions have been answered. The signal-caller is entering the final year of his contract and a decent 2015 season could lead to a tricky free agency.
"To start, I tend to think the Rams will let the season play out before making any sort of decision on Foles' long-term future," ESPN Rams reporter Nick Wagoner wrote. "In other words, I tend to doubt an extension will happen before or during the season. What happens from there will largely depend on how he performs. The nature of this offense will likely prevent Foles from posting monster numbers like he did in 2013, but let's say he has a solid season with something like 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while staying healthy and the Rams win nine or 10 games. One would think that would put Foles in line for a pretty nice deal.
"I don't think he'd be in that upper echelon, but let's put him more in line with someone like Kansas City's Alex Smith. Smith got four years at an average of about $17 million a season with $19 million guaranteed upfront (and more guarantees to take it closer to $45 million in guarantees upon simply sticking around for a year or two)."
Is Foles capable of producing a year like Wagoner mentioned? He threw for 2,891 yards with 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions in 13 games in 2013. Last year he came way back down to Earth, throwing for 2,163 yards while completing 59 percent of his passes with 13 scores and 10 picks in eight games.
The Rams are relying on a dominant front seven and what they hope to be a strong running game to steer their team to its first winning season in more than a decade. Foles will have to avoid costly turnovers and improve under pressure if he hopes to contribute to a winning team this year. If he can do that, a nice contract should be awaiting him in free agency.
